Finding a Bit of Trust
by Faery's Delight
Summary: When Sakura does something to Naruto, he has to rebuild his world. But this time, he as some help.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: None to start, moves on to main pairing Ibiki/Naruto

Chapter: 1

For: Truly Wicked

Word Count: 659

AN: This is the final and complete rewrite. I will not be going back to rewrite anything more. I can't rewrite anything more since if I do it changes everything.

* * *

I am working on the sequel to this story and calling it Finding a Bit of Happiness. I hope that you enjoy this rewrite. Thank you.

She said it had been an accident.

He highly doubted it since she had gone out of her way to hunt him down and drag him to her personal testing area. He didn't believe one word that was spilling out of her mouth, each one even more syrupy and fake then the last.

"…I'm so sorry, Naruto. I really didn't know that it would do this to you," Sakura babbled, stopping at the glare that was tossed her way by the male sitting in front of her and the Hokage. With long blond hair that was kept in a ponytail most of the time, blue eyes that usually sparkled with mirth and happiness and a rather slim body, all of it making one nice little package, Naruto was beautiful.

'_He had always been beautiful_,' Sakura thought to herself, sneering at the fact. '_That's why Sasuke-kun never looked twice at me. He had this pretty boy sitting in front of him the entire time. I bet it was his fault that Sasuke-kun left to._'

"Haruno, shut the fuck up will you?" Naruto finally snarled, his lips pulling back to bare his teeth at her. "This is your fucking fault. You knew exactly what would happen when you stuck me with that damn needle. I've heard you and Tsunade talk about it and your experiments, remember? I'm not dense, you damn woman. And now, thanks to you, everyone will think I'm some demon!"

Standing up, he paced the length of floor, his footsteps quiet even in his obvious anger.

Oh yes, Naruto was beautiful. In anger, in sadness, in pain or in pure happiness, he was beautiful, gorgeous even.

But now, he was deadly in his beauty.

With ears sitting on top of his head and a long tail trailing behind him, both of which were constantly in movement, he was more than just beautiful. The delicate claws that tipped long fingers added more to his looks. The overall effect was something not male. Not female.

But androgynous.

Sakura couldn't help but feel happy that while he was even more beautiful, he would still be considered a demon by the people of the village. She was careful to let none of this to show on her face.

"Haruno," Tsunade said finally, glaring at her student, making her pause in her gloating, "you will go outside, than you will allow the ANBU there to escort you out of here and take you to the Interrogation division. From there, Ibiki will interrogate you. You will answer him truthfully because he will know if you don't and he will use his personal favorites on you if you don't. With. My. Blessing."

Swallowing, the pink haired girl nodded and left the room, letting the two ANBU that were standing there led her away. Naruto in the mean time had fallen into a seat again, burying his face into his hands with a soft sound of distress.

"Everything I've worked so hard to achieve…everything I've worked so hard to get…it'll all disappear now," he sniffled softly. "The respect that I gained, the right to move freely…Oh, Tsunade, what am I going to do? Why did she do it?" Sighing softly, Tsunade stood up and moved over to Naruto, sitting next to him and pulling him close, her hands moving through the other's hair.

"I don't know, baby. We'll figure it out, I promise," she said softly, watching as Naruto slowly cried himself to sleep, his face puffy and red, but still so lovely. It broke her heart to see him so sad. She just hoped that it didn't break him in the process.

If only he knew just how many people, both shinobi and villagers, would throw a hissy fit about this happening to their blessed protector, he wouldn't be worrying so much. But he didn't know. He didn't see it.

He was still so sweet and naïve, even with all the blood on his hands.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: None to start, moves on to main pairing Ibiki/Naruto

Chapter: 2

For: Truly Wicked

Word Count: 947

AN: Second chapter edited and posted. Enjoy.

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Sitting back with her cup of sake, Tsunade swirled her saucer slowly as she watched the last of the Rookies and their senseis leave. Shoving her hair out of her face, she settled back as she thought of the slim fox that was currently resting in her side room.

She had warned the group that they would need to stay close to Kohona for the next week or so, Naruto having to tell them something big. The groups would end up with D and small time C rank stories until he had told them. After that, they would get back to normal missions and training schedules.

Sighing and shaking her head, Tsunade stood up, putting her cup down and walked over to her window, staring out of it as she smoothed a bit of hair back out of her face, frowning unhappily. Ignoring Jiraiya, who was currently staring at a sake cup in his hand, she pushed back a bit of her hair before turning to her old team mate.

"We're gonna have to warn people about what happened, make an announcement to everyone in the village," she drawled softly, playing with a bit of her blond hair.

"I know. I just don't like it," the male snorted, shaking his head and letting it fall onto the back of the couch, sighing softly in displeasure. "Why him though? Is it because he dragged Sasuke back kicking and screaming? Or is it something more?"

"I have a feeling it wasn't just the Sasuke thing but something else entirely," the blond woman snorted, moving to sit once more. Her student had been acting oddly for the last few months, but she had been too busy to really see what had been going on with her. And it worried her that she had been so blind as to not see her now ex-student was so…cruel. Especially to her own team mate, even though she had always been rough with Naruto.

Sighing again, Tsunade let her head drop onto the back of her chair and moaned softly in despair, knowing that she had seriously fucked up in concern to Naruto on that aspect.

"Gods, was I blind to my own students," she said lowly, Jiraiya finally looking up from his sake cup and gazing at her with curious eyes.

"Why do you say that?" he asked, draining his cup as Tsunade once more reached for her own.

"I say that because I should have seen this coming from a mile away and I didn't because I was caught up in trying to clean the damn council out," she snarled, drinking the sake down in one swoop. Shaking her head again, she pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed softly, her body finally going lax as she thought of the small male in her personal side room for late nights at the tower.

"Well, we'll hopefully find out why she went after Naruto once Ibiki gets done with her," Jiraiya promised, jerking when the door to Tsunade's office opened and said man strode in.

"When I get done with who?" the interrogation expert asked, raising an eyebrow at the two Leaf Sannins.

"You haven't been down to your office yet, have you?" Tusnade asked, getting a head shake.

"Not yet, I haven't had time to do so. I've been busy looking for a few people with some men," Ibiki stated, thinking of the council members that had tried to run for it. They were currently in cells, attached to chakra cuffs to stop them from going anywhere. "I just got back to drop off the keys and the report," he told them, holding up said items.

"Just stick it on my desk," Tsunade huffed, shaking her head at the scarred man, as she eyed him closely. "Before you go back to your own building, Ibiki, since your ANBU haven't told you, there has been a situation with Naruto."

"Sakura decided that he would make a good test rat and gave him the ears and tail of a fox," Jiraya cut in knowing that his old teammate would have danced around the subject, pissing Ibiki off. "You need to find out just why she decided to do that to him seeing as she did it on purpose, knowing exactly what would happen to him." Ibiki blinked several times at Jiraiya as he drank another dish of sake down easily.

"I see," he hummed, his eyes taking on a hard glint. "I will be back with that report in no more than a week." With that said he turned around and strode out, the two Sannin watching his movements. They didn't call out to him to tell him to keep her sane or even in one piece; they knew that Ibiki had a soft spot for Naruto and the pink haired menace had just gotten on the man's bad side.

"Think we'll be able to stick her together enough to turn her into a brood mare?" Jiraiya drawled darkly, thinking of ways to torture the one who just fucked up big.

"I don't care. If we can't, she won't ever be a ninja again, won't have the use of said chakra if I have anything to say about it and she'll end up shunned anyways," Tsunade said, snorting lightly.

In a building that was surrounded by thick walls and strong sealing seals, Ibiki strode into the room where Sakura was currently sitting, struggling against the chains that held her.

"Sakura Haruno. You and I are going to have quite a bit of fun," came the pleasant voice of the large man, eyes glinting as the woman before him shrunk back with wide eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: None to start, moves on to main pairing Ibiki/Naruto

Chapter: 3

For: Truly Wicked

Word Count:

AN: Chapter 3 has been edited. Remember, I am writing the next story of this series. Just taking me time. Enjoy this for now.

* * *

Staring at the woman…no, this girl who was posing as a woman…Ibiki tapped his fingers against the table before him with a frown.

"So, do tell me why you are here, visiting my interrogation chambers," he purred, a vaguely curious expression on his face. As if he didn't know already.

Snorting inwardly, he waited patiently as Sakura thought of her answer. He knew that she was considering how to make things look good on her part. Ibiki had always admired her brain but if he wanted her brain he could always go to Anko, who was currently in their observation room.

She was more than likely laughing her ass off.

Finally, Sakura shifted, crossing her legs before putting her hands together in her lap. She looked up through her bangs and twirled her fingers together.

Ibiki wasn't fooled with the sweet and innocent act.

"Well, Ibiki-san" Sakura started making the big man snort in his mind, "I was working on an easier way to get those who are stuck in mid transformations unstuck. Since Naruto can change back after getting stuck on his own anyways, I asked him to help me. Apparently, the procedure went wrong, even after all my other tests had gone right."

Ibiki nodded, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen, starting to write notes down on the pad. Really, he was just making notes about his thoughts of how to continue dealing with Sakura, but let her think otherwise.

"So what happened next?" Ibiki asked, looking up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"After I had asked him to henge into an animal and then back, I did what I was supposed to do," she continued, looking down with a convincing blush heating her cheeks. "Apparently since Naruto is so different, it went wrong then and he ended up with a pair of ears and a tail. After that, Hokage-sama sent me here with one of your ANBU's."

"I see," Ibiki hummed, writing a few more things down before he finally stood up with the pad in hand. "You do realize that I have to place you into a cell until can finish the investigation right?"

"Yes, sir," Sakura replied, her mind already working on how soon she would be free and able to continue her work tearing Naruto down. Ibiki could see it in her eyes.

"Good," Ibiki replied, leaving the room. Telling the female ANBU there that Sakura was to have no contact with anyone else beyond him, Anko, the Hokage and her two guards, he got two nods before he swept down the hallways.

Sitting in his chair, having called who he wanted to his office, Ibiki tapped the pad of paper, knowing it was just as matter of waiting for said person. Looking down at his notes, he rather hoped that his approach worked with this woman otherwise he worried that the physical torture would be a waste of their time if they had to resort to it. Tapping the page again, he gazed at the bare wall before him, eyes sharp but far away.

Hearing a knock, he tilted his head to the side as he felt the persons' chakra, smirking as he crossed his legs and straightened the papers before him.

"Enter," he finally called, watching his door open and a familiar body walk in. Letting his smirking grow, Ibiki waved a hand to the chair before him. "Thank you, Uchiha-san, for coming in on such short notice."

"What is it that I can help you with, Ibiki-san?" the dark male asked in greeting. Ibiki sat back as he tried to think on how to tell the other male that his best friend, rival and savior had been screwed over by their old team mate. Sasuke's brows furrowed together, feeling that it was something bad from how long Ibiki was quiet. "What has happened?" he finally snarled. Ibiki leant forward, lacing his fingers together.

"It's Naruto. Sakura has played God, or tried to and Naruto has been changed because of it. I don't know the details of it," Ibiki stated, staring at the Uchiha. "I was hoping you would be willing to help me with figuring out why she did it. Currently she is sitting in a cell waiting for me to finish my investigation."

"So you want me to use her crush on me against her?" Sasuke replied, raising an eyebrow. Ibiki nodded, smirking at the other man with glinting eyes.

"Yes. From what I know, Naruto freaked out, worrying that the villagers will consider him the Kyuubi once more, making him lose all respect from his fellow nin," Ibiki replied, lips thinning out as Sasuke cursed softly, head falling back onto the chair spine.

"Not good all around. But maybe he'll finally see how respected he is," Sasuke mused, running a hand through his hair. "But I suppose I can help you with getting any information you need from her," he finally agreed, nodding his head. "When do I do this?"

"Soon. I'm waiting for a report from the Hokage about Naruto. As I was leaving, I heard she was going to do a quick check up while Naruto was asleep," Ibiki informed the Uchiha, once more tapping his pen against the pad of paper, leaning back in his seat.

Looking up as one of his ANBU entered, he took the scroll from her, dismissing the masked woman. Opening it up, he read over the report before comparing it to Sakura's testimony. Putting the scroll and the pad down, he gazed at Sasuke with dark eyes.

"You do remember the rules for an open case, correct?" the scarred man asked, getting a sharp nod. "She did tell the truth about researching a way to fix a stuck chakra transformation. What she didn't tell the truth about was the way the treatment goes, and more likely lied to Naturo to. She doesn't apply the chakra while they turn back to their normal form, rather, she applies it to the stuck chakra point," Ibiki hummed, tapping his fingers on the scroll before him.

"So, she really just kind of fucked herself over," Sasuke hummed. Ibiki snorted and nodded his head.

"Yeah. When she applied the chakra, she forced Naruto's to fluctuate and permanently changed it enough for him to end up with ears and a tail. She probably did something else too," he continued. "So, now the question is why."

"And that's where I come in," Sasuke drawled, crossing his legs, foot taping lightly as he looked at the clock. "I always knew that she disliked Naruto but not to the extent of trying to ruin his career and his life. I just hope it's not because of something stupid."

"So do I," Ibiki agreed. Rolling the scroll back up, he placed it into one of his personal filing cabinets. Standing up, Sasuke followed his movements with his eyes before stretching his body with a grunt.

Nodding his head, Ibiki led the way to the privacy room that was often used for visits between visitors and certain prisoners. No one but the Hokage and Ibiki knew about the fact that it was watched just in case something important was said. "You'll be left alone for the most part beyond the guards outside. When you're done just knock on the door and we'll let you out," the bigger man promised as he let Sasuke into the room.

"Right," Sasuke drawled, nodding his head as he thought over what he was going to do while with Sakura. Sitting down in the chair that didn't have a ring in the table before him, he watched Ibiki leave. It wasn't long before the pink haired menace was brought in and attached to the ring. Looking her over, he mentally sneered as he watched her look at him with hopeful eyes.

"Sasuke-kun, I wasn't expecting to see you here," she said, batting her eyes at the other male. He wanted to shove a foot down her throat badly but instead smirked at her as he sprawled out in his chair.

"I heard what happened this morning and got permission to talk with you. You know how the council likes me. Always trying to get into my good graces," he said, nodding his head at her. Sakura's eyes sparkled as she wiggled in place. "I've got to ask though, since they're all saying you screwed up a test, did you really screw up?" he asked, his voice a soft, rolling purr. He could see Sakura falling into her fangirlism for him even more.

Perfect.

"I didn't screw it up," she started, watching Sasuke shift to lean forward, resting his head on his hand. She squealed inwardly at the fact that Sasuke was so interested in her and what she had done.

"I didn't think so," Sasuke hummed, raising an eyebrow at her, getting a blush.

"I…well, I did it on purpose," she admitted. Sasuke smirked in his mind but just tilted his head to the side. "He's been getting uppity, always demanding Tsunade-sama's time and taking Kakashi-sensi away from training with you with those stupid missions. I mean, really? Taking a cat to the next town? A genin team could take care of it. He needed to learn a lesson. That it's permanent is just a bonus," she finished, preening lightly as Sasuke sat back, his eyes brows shooting for his hair line.

"I see," was the reply before he stood up and walked around the table. "Did you know that there are about 60 codes for high class missions? Well, I'm sure you do. You are, after all, a chunin and need to know this because you work with Jounins and their missions. Now, what does escorting a cat mean in that context?" Sakura swallowed as Sasuke's voice grew colder with each word.

"It means a highly dangerous escort mission to one of the lands that we have a tentative relationship with," she said quietly before looking as Sasuke with curious eyes. "So?"

"We're not done yet," Sasuke cooed, walking around her. "Now, who does Tsunade-sama usually hang out with?"

"Jiraya-sama," was the squeaked reply.

"And does Tsunade-sama also teach certain shinobi outside of you, about healing techniques?"

"Yes."

"Now that I've destroyed your excuses, I have to say this," Sasuke drawled slowly as he stood up and walked around to stand behind her. "With your jealousy, you just tried, and I do mean tried, to ruin a respected shinobi's career and life. _But _it won't work."

"Why not?" she breathed out.

"Because Naruto is even more wanted than me. He's also next in line for Hokage. He's gonna be just like his dad," Sasuke cooed into her ear before standing up straight. Walking over to the door, he knocked on it before smirking to himself. "By the way Sakura, I'm engaged to a very sweet civilian woman. I've always had a thing for blonds and she's the right shade."

Walking out, he smirked even harder at the outraged scream that followed him.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust  
Fandom: Naruto  
Pairing: None to start, moves on to main pairing Ibiki/Naruto  
Chapter: 4  
For: Truly Wicked  
Word Count: 1,237  
AN: Another one down, more to go. This is very slow going. *sighs*

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Curled up on the cot, Naruto stared at the curtained window, watching as the curtains danced in the light breeze. Tsunade had opened the window enough to let in the breeze so he didn't end up feeling confined as he napped, but it didn't really matter to him at the moment.

He was more worried about how he was going to be treated now. He looked like he supposed a demon would look like in human form after all. Ears and a tail, whisker marks that sat high on his cheeks. Claws and more defined, though rather delicate fangs that flashed every time he so much as thought about smiling.

He had a feeling it wasn't going to be a very good reception.

Moaning quietly, Naruto rubbed his cheek against the pillow under his cheek, eyes hazy as his thoughts ran rampant.

They kept turning to why Sakura had done what she had done. He just couldn't figure it out.

Was it because he had so many missions and she hated that the village was starting to trust him, albeit slowly? Or did it have something to do with Sasuke? He had thought she had gotten over that long ago, and had actually liked him as a friend.

Sitting up, he shoved his hair out of his face before looking up and blinking at the door as his ears twitched forward at the softest sound of leather brushing against fabric. He had a feeling he knew who it was since there were only a few people who dared to wear leather, even inside of the village walls. Smiling softly, Naruto watched as his suspicions were confirmed, a strong, slightly scarred hand opening the door as an equally strong, scarred body stepped into the room.

"Hello, Ibiki-san," Naruto greeted, getting a soft smirk from the other man. He didn't think he'd ever really seen Ibiki smile or cackle when it wasn't connected to freaking out his enemies or opponents. But then again, the blond really doubted he wanted to see a smile. He much preferred the soft smirks that he got; they always seemed to have more behind them.

"Hello, Naruto-san. I was told you were still resting," Ibiki said, eyeing the ears that twitched amongst soft hair, barely disturbing the long locks. The reminder just made him want to go back and slam Sakura's head into a wall a few dozen times before shaving her bald, quickly shoving the urges into a dark closet in his mind.

No need to frighten the young man before him.

Naruto shook his head and sat up completely, curling his arms around his knees. Even being nearly 20 years of age, he still held a look that was young, sweet, and almost criminal in the way he could pull off a very young teenager. He often was teased by Kiba or Ino on the subject but he just brushed them off with a smirk, knowing what was going on in their minds. Ibiki on the other hand was having a hard time reminding himself that Naruto was far from a child and hadn't been in a very long time.

"Not really. Maybe earlier but my mind started to annoy me," he admitted, his voice soft, nearly caressing the interrogation expert's body in its sweetness. The large man had to beat back the urges that it drew up, his nearly nonexistent eyebrow twitching ever so slightly.

"I see. Well, I am offering you a place to stay while we try to figure out if the ears are permanent or not," he continued, his tone not betraying what was going on in his head. "I live in a rather large home on the outskirts and you'll be able to feel free enough to train and do things without worry of being attacked suddenly by one of the few idiots left in the village."

"What about my apartment? I need to gather my stuff up, including my plants…" Naruto started, trailing off at the thought of some uncaring nimrod hurting his babies. Ibiki snorted and shook his head, moving to settle down onto the only chair that was in the room. Leaning forward to rest on his knees, he laced his fingers together, watching blue eyes zone in on them.

"I'll have someone who you can trust go gather your things, or if you want, I can have a few of the ANBU gather them while you're there," he offered, watching Naruto look back up with a wariness that shouldn't be there. He was really starting to hate the civilian part of the village for doing what they had done to the young man before him.

"You will let me stay at your place? Why?" Naruto asked, shifting and watching the other man with a calculating look on his face before biting his bottom lip in thought. "What would I have to do to stay with you?"

"Just continue to do what you need to do. Train, figure out how this affects you, your balance and your chakra," Ibiki stated, staring straight into Naruto's eyes with a frown dancing on his lips. "Leave it to me and Tsunade to do damage control and figure out what the hell Sakura did. We have some of the information on what she did but not all of it. Even using Sasuke to get the information, she still left out quite a bit of what she did. As for why I'm doing this, I'm doing it because I want to."

"Did she say why she did it?" was the tentative question, blue eyes filled with sadness. He had a feeling he knew just why she had done it but the young man was trying so hard to deny the fact of the matter.

"She did it because she thought that you were taking Sasuke away from the important things. Her and his training," was the answer. The tone it was delivered in was cold, dark with displeasure.

"I see," Naruto sighed before shaking his head with a frown. "You mean to tell me, all those times I used code she knows, she didn't connect it to training or doing missions for ANBU?" he asked after a few moments of thinking, eyes flaring in his displeasure.

"Precisely," Ibiki snorted, a twisted smirk flitting over his thin lips. "Apparently, anytime she was around the Uchiha, her mind went into something Anko called fangirl mode. Whatever that is," he continued, watching Naruto shiver, his ears go flat and his tail fluff out.

"Any time you see a glint in a girl's eyes that reminds you of Anko when it comes to her dango or Orochimaru, run. Just run. That's a fangirl sparkle and it's a scary, scary thing," the young fox told the older man, nodding his head and making Ibiki burst out into booming laughter.

"I think you'll do just fine with me kid. Come on, let's head on out and get your stuff together, yes?" he asked as he stood up, getting a scowl from the fox, the glare more of a pout then an actual glare.

"Don't call me kid! And fine, that sounds good. Do we have anything to hide my new attributes with?" he asked, before the door was opened and a coat came flying at him.

"Get out of my office," Tsunade snorted, smiling at the pout she got from her little brother.

"Tsunade!"


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 5

Characters: Ibiki, Sasuke, Naruto

Word count: 1,712

AN: If you are reading this story on a site that has it fully posted, I am kind of ignoring previously responded to reviews that I answered here, in the AN section, since I don't have the time, or the energy to repost them. It's not because I don't love you guys, it's because I'm tired.

Very tired.

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It had taken a bit of time for Ibiki to hunt down the few ANBU in his corps that Naruto trusted enough to go to his home to pack it up. Once he had them, the scarred man had explained what he had wanted them to do, watching half of the group head to his own home to clean out a set of rooms that were being used as a storage room and the other half head for Naruto's home.

Looking at said male, he had to smile at the way the small nin was nearly swallowed up by the hooded jacket that he wore. Naruto just gave him a dry look as he shook his head and stood up from his seat.

One of the ANBU had posed the question about why the young man didn't use a henge to do what he needed to do when he had brought the specialized jacket. Naruto had shown why while stating that he could change into other people but he rather didn't want to deal with his neighbors asking why he was stealing his own stuff. Meaning that he could henge into someone else, but he couldn't henge into himself, the ears and tail staying put even when someone else put the illusion on him.

"We'll head out in a few minutes, let them do their work without worrying about rushing," Ibiki drawled getting a nod from Naruto. "Do you want to see Sasuke before he leaves? Ask him anything?" the scarred man asked, watching blue eyes consider the question.

"Yeah, I want to grill him about a couple of things," Naruto finally said, nodding his head with a smile. Ibiki smirked and lead the younger man to the waiting room before his office, planning on getting some information on Sakura from the two. They found Sasuke in the waiting room, lounging and reading a small book as he ignored Ibiki's civilian secretary who was blushing and twittering. "Hey, Sasuke, what are you up to now?" the smaller blond greeted, looking at the book with a raised eyebrow.

"Reading a book on the chakra of demons. I got rather curious about it about a year before you dragged me back," the Uchiha replied, picking up a water bottle from the table to his left.

"That was nearly three years ago!" the fox exclaimed, feeling his furry appendages twitch under his coat.

"How about we move into my office to keep this conversation going?" Ibiki asked, eyeing his secretary. He idly wondered why he had allowed Tsunade to hire a civilian as his personal secretary as they walked into his office. The woman pouted as the door was closed in her face. "Is she a fan girl? Please tell me so I can fire her," the bigger man growled, getting smirks from his companions.

"Yeah, she's one of Sasuke's fan girls. Though, most do deny that he's getting married now that it's out," Naruto said, smirking at his friend. "Though, I don't think Sakura knows about it to be truthful."

"I told her when I talked to her, and bite me, you idiot," Sasuke snorted, shaking his head with a roll of his eyes. "So, what did you two need?" he continued, watching Ibiki with cool eyes.

"I wanted to ask about your conversation with Sakura, your observations actually," Naruto replied, dropping into a chair as his escort sat down behind his desk and pulled a legal pad towards him.

"I want to know more about your personal thoughts about the girl and not just during your time in the room. I'm going to have to do this with all of your friends," Ibiki drawled, tapping his pen on the pad.

"Then I should start at the beginning then," Sasuke drawled, settling into his own chair and swirling his water bottle around. "We met her in the academy, about the same time we met really. I thought she was rather on the shy side, but that didn't last longer then a year. She met Ino and became more forward about her crush. About the time of my clan's slaughter, she had become quite forward about it."

"I remember after the month vacation between year one and two that Sakura walked right up to you with Ino and smiled brightly, calling you Sasuke-kun as if you two were great friends," Naruto added, shaking his head.

"Yeah, pissed me off to no end. I didn't know her, my family was having problems and here was this girl that thought I wanted to speak with her," Sasuke replied, nodding his head as Ibiki jotted notes down. "Over the next two years, she drove me up a wall, especially a few weeks after the slaughter. Even when I was an ass to her, she and others kept coming back. It was almost as if she had deluded herself that I just needed some time to get past my clan's death," he continued, rubbing his eyes a few time.

Naruto pulled his legs up and tapped his fingers on one foot. "After we were put on the same team, she seemed to calm down about her crush, still asking him out all the time but actually working, but she seemed to really hate me."

"Could be the accidental kiss that really set her off. Before that, she thought I was an annoying loser with a crush on her," Sasuke cut in, pulling a face. "Luckily she never once figured out that you could barely stand her."

"Even you knew that I was playing," Naruto snorted, flicking a bit of hair back out of his face.

"She was very dense about things when it didn't fit into her world. And her world was very selective about what was in it. Guys crushed on her, I was just hurting instead of wanting to kill who ever had killed my family and Naruto was an idiot who couldn't do shit beyond pranks, and this was during the academy," Sasuke continued. "The delusions just got worse once we were in a team, even though it was her mostly asking me out and annoying me that way. She also fawned over me, still does really."

"Sasuke-san, a lot of people annoy you," Ibiki growled as he flipped the page. "What about you, Naruto? Any observations on her?" he asked, looking up at the snort.

"Oh yeah, loads. I used to sneak after various classmates to test my skills against those of my own age group. Sakura would often follow after Sasuke, literally stalking him with this look of glee that sent shivers down my back. On a few occasions, I found her sneaking into Sasuke's place on the Uchiha grounds. When we got older, and after I got back, I found that she had started to collect scraps of clothing and the such from fights that she was at, not to mention the clothes that he had left behind. I shudder to think about what I saw her do with those clothes."

"You have got to be joking," Sasuke drawled, eyes narrowing at the head. "Now I'm glad you convinced me to burn those clothes and bed sheets!"

"And bed," Naruto chirped, ears twitching with amusement. Ibiki would never admit it, but he shuddered at the thought of what the woman had done. He liked women just as much as he liked men, the same with any ninja who put their lives on the line. But something about the pink haired female just made his balls want to crawl back up into his body and stay there. "Anyways, I don't know what she did with the stuff once I brought Sasuke back."

"We're raiding everything that she owns so we'll find out," Ibiki promised, dragging his mind back to the present. "We've found her notes and unlocked them. We just need to read through them and figure out how she kept her records straight. We have found several books with detailed notes on what Sasuke did through his time here and whenever you and your team ran into him, up until the day before today. They also include rants, mostly about Naruto and always connected to Sasuke and his interactions. What we do know is that she blamed Naruto for driving Sasuke away, instead of his passion for more power."

"Not surprised. She was always very violent towards me. The last few years she had toned it down but that was mostly because Tsunade and I are so close," Naruto mused, shaking his head at that.

"That and I told her off after she attacked you after I was brought back," Sasuke noted, Ibiki furiously writing notes down. "While I was talking with her in the interrogation room, she seemed to be almost like she was back in the academy. All sweetness and fluff. It was creepy." Sasuke shuddered at the memory. "She also seemed as if she was holding something back, but I suppose that could be the details on what she did to Naruto. Did you also find the information on that?" Naruto looked to Ibiki, curiosity filling his eyes. The man nodded, pointing to a pile of boxes in the corner of his office.

"Those were in her offices. I'm going to have to have a few others help me go through all of it, not to mention get a list of medical jargon for those who don't understand it. Which is surprisingly quite a few of my people," Ibiki drawled, glaring at the boxes. And we have yet to find all the compartments that she has running around her home," he groused, making the two younger men laugh.

"Good luck with that, Ibiki. Personally, I need to head off to do things, which include looking at invitation styles," Sasuke said, standing up with a huff.

"Sounds real fun," Naruto drawled slowly, getting a dry look as the black haired man strolled out of the room, the door closing behind him. Naruto giggled softly, turning to Ibiki as the big man stood up to.

"Let's head out. Your rooms should be set up and ready for your appraisal," Ibiki invited, getting a nod. Pulling up his hood, he followed after the man and they were soon bounding over the roofs.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Many

Part: 6

Word Count: 644

AN: Another chapter! Be happy that I'm editing this stuff so fast.

* * *

Sakura sneered at the masked ANBU who had shoved her into her new personal cell, slamming the door behind her quickly. Rubbing her wrists, she supposed that she was lucky that they had decided to remove her chakra suppressing cuffs, even if they hadn't removed the suppressor around her neck. Sitting down on the bunk bed, she glared at the wall, wanting to know why she was there at all. All she had done was show the world what everyone knew about Naruto; after all, he was still the fox and deserved whatever he got.

Especially after what he did to her Sasuke-kun through the years.

Looking up, she glared at the smugly smirking Anko who had dropped a tray of food down onto the only table in the room. Looking at it, she had to admit that they fed their prisoners well at the very least. Turning her gaze to the snake user, Sakura watched as she left and closed the door behind her with a snicker.

'_Bitch_,' Sakura snorted mentally. '_She should be fed to the wolves along with her traitor sensei. Or slowly drawn and quartered_.' Shaking the thoughts away, she stood up and gathered the plate before sitting down again. Settling in with the rice and beef, she contemplated what would happen now that she was in an ANBU holding cell.

She knew that nothing would happen to her. After all, she was the apprentice of Tsunade, Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, student of Hatake Kakashi, son of the infamous White Fang and genius in his own right, and teammate and close friend of Sasuke Uchiha, one of the last two Uchihas loyal to the village. Granted, Naruto had been a part of the team but he hadn't held them back too much. She was a commodity to the village!

And she didn't believe that Sasuke wanna be. That hadn't been her Sasuke-kun; he wouldn't betray her like that! It had to have been Ibiki, the bastard, or it could have been that bitch Anko, but it had not been her Sasuke-kun.

Stabbing her chopsticks into a piece of beef, she snarled, making the watching ANBU shudder at the way the snarl made the semi pretty face pull into something ugly.

'_They just don't want me and Sasuke-kun to have pretty babies together_.' Her thoughts were snarls as she tore the beef apart in her anger. '_Who do they think they are!? I bet it's that whore, Naruto, getting everyone to try and separate me and Sasuke-kun so he can have him to himself! But who would help that bastard child?_'

Shaking her head again, Sakura ate her food quickly, before standing and putting her plate on the table and once more sitting down. She barely twitched as an ANBU collected her plate, mind already spinning with possibilities of who had turned on her.

"She's nuts, isn't she?" the ANBU asked, placing the plate down onto a table as Anko rubbed her bottom lip with a finger.

"Sociopathic, yes. Nuts, no. She's got a major case of delusions going on though," Anko replied, smirking slightly. "Go and bring me a journal of hers would you? I need to see more of her mind."

"Yes, ma'am." With a nod, the ANBU disappeared with nary a sound, leaving the snake user to continue watching her new prisoner.

"So, Sasuke's little bitch has betrayed her people." The man was smirking, playing with a kunai as his servant nodded and watched his master gaze out a window high above the village.

"Yes, sir. What do you want to do?" the shorter of the two asked, looking at his lord. A long fingered hand slammed the kunai into the window sill as slim lips curled into a cruel smirk.

"Watch for now. I think we might find her useful."

"Yes, sir."


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 7

Characters: Naruto, Ibiki

Word count: 1,378

AN: And number 3. :3 Doing good for the editing.

* * *

Looking around the room, Naruto hummed and moved his bed closer to one wall, glad that the ANBU hadn't put anything away, leaving the details to him. Ibiki was going through the scrolls, looking for the one that contained Naruto's clothes while Naruto shifted the furniture and his plants into place. The scarred man was finding it interesting just how fussy the small fox really was about his stuff and was glad that he had had his ANBU be careful with everything. It also helped that Naruto's room was connected to a bathroom and a receiving room, letting the blond have plenty of privacy.

Looking up at a few choice words coming from Naruto, Ibiki snorted softly and walked over to help him hang his plant from the ceiling. Getting it just right, he raised an eyebrow, getting a pout from the smaller male. It was looking like he was starting to relax enough for him to feel comfortable again, but the bigger man was worried that telling anyone else about Sakura's betrayal would make him tense and worry once more. Sighing quietly, Ibiki rubbed at his skull cap as Naruto opened the scroll marked sheets.

"We're going to have to tell your friends and those you work with closely," he warned, watching Naruto move around the bed as he worked the bedding onto it. The blond paused in his movements, eyeing the bald male before him, apprehension flooding his eyes. "We'll be doing it on your terms," Ibiki continued, quick to soothe his skittish house guest.

"So...we'll do it here or in Tsunade's office," Naruto replied, tugging at his sheets one last time, getting a nod. "Alright. I think...I want to start with Team Gai and that does include Gai. You're just going to have to deal with them," he said, quick to point a finger at the interrogation expert. He knew just how well those two got along; that is to say, Gai annoyed Ibiki to the point where the bald man wanted to shove a kunai through the rather enthusiastic Jounin's skull and twist.

Everyone knew it and tried to keep them apart.

"Why must you torture me?" Ibiki grumbled as Naruto smirked and laid out his blanket and pillows.

"Just get Team Gai later after we eat. I haven't eaten since earlier today and I would like food," he huffed. Waving his hand, Ibiki smirked as Naruto walked out of the door and down the hall way towards the kitchen. Taking the room over easily, Naruto watched the scarred man write out the summons for Team Gai, sending them out with a few of his personal summons as Naruto created a simple stir fry with rice. "So when did you tell them to come around?" Naruto asked as he opened one of his scrolls, finding bread that looked home made to Ibiki's eyes.

"Later. And when do you find time time to make bread?" Naruto laughed softly and shook his head as he continued to chop and cook.

"When it's cheaper to make most of your own food as I've discovered? You make time," the shorter male replied, ears quivering at his memories. Ibiki made a note to boycott anyone who still refused to serve Naruto, knowing there weren't that many any more.

"I see," Ibiki drawled, shaking his head as he continued to put food up, stashing the scrolls away into another scroll, letting Naruto put it away in his cabinet.

Sitting down, the bald man raised an eyebrow as Naruto dished up the food and sat down, watching the other's ears twitch and sway back and forth as he dug in. Smiling, the two settled in and enjoyed their meal, looking up when a knock sounded. Ibiki looked at his watch before getting up and heading to open it, Naruto moving to hide in the kitchen for the time being.

"Hello, Ibiki-san," greeted the pale eyed Neji who was standing on the porch before him, looking bored but rather curious about why he was there. Ten-ten stood next to her team mate, nodding her head in greeting.

"Hyuuga-san, Ten-ten-san, please come in," Ibiki returned, stepping aside and allowing the two to enter. Watching as the two slid off their shoes, he closed the door as he raised an eyebrow. "Where is Gai-san and Lee-san?"

"They're coming. They had to stop and pick something up for Naruto, or so they said," Ten-ten replied, blinking as the door was knocked on after she had finished. "Or they're here now." Sighing, Ibiki pulled open the door, knowing better then to look at the blinding smiles to come.

"Ibiki-san, what a delight to see you so soon," Gai greeted as he watched the other man scowl.

"Greetings, Ibiki-san," Lee chirped from behind his teacher, smiling as the other man squinted at them in an attempt to keep from going blind.

"Please, come in. Let me speak with Naruto about how he wants to do this," Ibiki drawled, stepping back from the door way, letting the two men into house, pointing towards the living room. Once they were settled, he headed into the kitchen, nodding his head at Naruto as he watched the kettle heat. "So?" he asked.

"Tell them I suppose and then show them?" Naruto asked softly, getitng a nod from Ibiki, a smile dancing on the blond's lips. "So go do that while I work on creating the tea," he shooed, pulling the kettle off of the stove. Ibiki shook his head and walked into the living room, sitting down and crossing his legs.

"So, something has happened to Naruto. The Hokage knows about it along with Sasuke, Anko and several of my ANBU," Ibiki started, drawing four pairs of eyes towards him.

"Why do so many know something that I have a feeling is a high class secret?" Neji asked after a moment.

"It's not a secret. How it happened is until the trial but not the after effects. It seems that Haruno tested something on him, which left him with a few extra appendages," he replied, nodding his head to Naruto who had just walked in, carrying a tray laden with teacups, a teapot and a couple of other dishes. "Found everything alright?"

"You haven't changed anything from the last time we got together for a mission and ANBU work meeting," Naruto hummed quietly, putting the tray down as the others looked on, amazed at the sight of the twitching ears and tail. Lee finally stood up, looking down at the other male before reaching out and tweaking the tip, the ear going flat before standing up again.

"They are real and very cute," Lee finally said, getting a grateful smile from the smaller male.

"Yeah, they're real. We're not quite sure what exactly she poked me with though," Naruto hummed, moving around Lee and sitting down, serving the tea with a blush as the others continued to stare. "I'm actually planning on telling everyone, one by one, or rather the teams one by one, and then telling a few important people before the trial goes public."

"That'll happen in the next couple of weeks. Until then, Sakura is locked up and in denial about Sasuke's status as a taken man," Ibiki drawled, a smirk twitching his lips. Naruto just rolled his eyes and stroked Lee's arm in comfort as his teammates sipped their tea.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. She was after all…very obsessed with Sasuke-san," Lee sighed, shaking his head with a tight frown.

"You can visit her if you wish to do so," the large interrogator told the young man, getting a nod. "Anyway, until we can tell the others, try to stay quiet about this please."

"Of course, Ibiki-san," Neji replied, watching Lee fuss with Naruto's ears, making the fox look at him with an indulgent smile on his lips. Gai had to laugh quietly as Ten-ten just shook her head.

"Don't worry, we won't tell," she said, putting her teacup down and smiling lightly. Lee and Gai nodded in agreement, making Ibiki watch and wonder how their heads didn't come off with how hard they were nodding. Lee went back to playing with Naruto's ears as everyone settled in to talk and chat between themselves.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Characters:

Chapter: 8

Word count: 601

AN: Chapter 8 done. Please remember, that I won't be editing this story AGAIN once I'm done editing. Any chapters before this point are edited and not going to be edited again.

* * *

Walking into the room, the man clicked his tongue as he watched Sakura stare at the wall.

Or rather glare at it.

Laughing softly, he smiled lightly as the pink haired woman jumped up off the bed, the chain that had been placed around her ankle rattling with her movement. Waving a hand, he sat in the chair near the door and turned back to her, enjoying the rather narrow eyed glare he was getting.

"Calm down, Sakura-chan. I'm not here to hurt you," he soothed, watching as she once more sat down, still tense. "Your guards are knocked out for the moment so we'll have a few minutes to speak with one another."

"What are you doing here?" Sakura finally asked, pale green eyes glaring at him. "Here to mock me like that bitch? Or are you here to tell me lies like others?"

"No, no. I'm here to offer you your freedom, strength and a good way to show the fox'es true face to the village and the Hokage," he said, leaning his head onto one hand, eyes glowing at her as she looked a bit more interested in what he had to say. "You know that they will never see the truth as long as the fox lives the good life. They need to see the evil that he carries."

"He's a slut, nothing more then a whore. He made my Sasuke-kun want blonds," Sakura pouted, crossing her arms and looking at the wall again. "He flirts all the time with others. Probably slept with them to but I can't find proofve of it. Everyone is so tight lipped."

"Yes, he's very good at sneaking around and hiding the truth from everyone," he cooed in sympathy, eyes glittering coolly. "I can help you, but it would have to be handled rather delicately." Looking over at the man, Sakura raised an eyebrow before leaning back against her wall.

"I will need time to really think about it," she finally said, getting a nod from the man. Watching as he stood up, she smirked as he opened the door and left.

Neither of them noticed the ANBU laying on the floor shift a tiny bit, dark eyes flashing behind his mask as they looked out of the eye slits. He would have to speak with Ibiki and the Hokage when he could. , eEven though he couldn't tell who the man was, the jutsu that surrounded him masking his sight, he could tell height and weight, body type.

Sakura meanwhile settled back firmly against her wall, and once more stared at her wall, thinking long and hard about what she had been offered. She knew that the man wanted to use her, but really, she didn't mind since she cwould use him in return.

As it was, she wanted Naruto ground into the dirt and she would fix Sasuke from the warping he had gone through while with the snaky bastard and of course, Naruto's seduction and Itachi's damning influence.

How they had ever let that sociopath back, she would never know. She didn't care that he had been undercover for the Hokage and Ibiki. He had been a missing-nin, had killed people as a missing-nin! He had nearly killed her Sasuke-kun for that matter.

Either way, she would get what she wanted, destroy the fools who dared to get in her way and go about having lots of little black haired babies.

Looking up, she scowled unhappily as Anko slammed into her cell and, looking beyond pissed about finding the ANBU knocked out.

The bitch would be the first to go.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Naruto, Ibiki, Raidou (Sparrow)

Part: 9

Word count: 1,371

AN: Chapter 9, done. Please remember, that I won't be editing this story AGAIN once I'm done editing. Any chapters before this point are edited and not going to be edited again.

* * *

The afternoon with Team Gai had turned into Lee running out to get take out for all of them on Neji's dime, much to their amusement, followed by Naruto changing things around in his room once they had left. Falling asleep after he had gotten his wards to his liking, the fox had woken up to the sounds of Ibiki making tea the next morning. Trying to ignore the sounds, he buried himself under the blanket and grunted unhappily.

The sounds kept coming though, making him sit up looking ruffled and far from happy. Grabbing his robe, he tugged it on before padding out on socked feet, glaring at the bald man who was daring to disturb his rest before stealing the others teacup, growling at the hand that reached out to take it back.

Blinking, Ibiki had to laugh quietly as he let the blond have the teacup, making his owna new one. He had been warned the night before by Lee that Naruto wasn't much of a morning person and tended to steal a person's tea cup, or coffee if it was what was being drunk at the time. The other man sipped at his fresh cup before starting on breakfast.

"So what am I supposed to be doing today?" Naruto asked curiously from his perch on the counter, still sounding sleepy.

"You can stay here or you can go in with me to relax at ANBU headquarters, see how the ears and tail effect your balance and fighting abilities," the bald man suggested, dropping some left over meat into the a pan with a bit of oil. Naruto hummed and sipped his tea, looking down at the cup with a frown on his lips.

"I think I'll come in. Even though I can't work my own case, I can at least spar and raid the ANBU library, think about who to tell next."

"Asuma's team is out of town on a mission apparently. They should be back later today or tomorrow but I do suggest you tell Kurenai and them, keep her away from Asuma and Kakashi," Ibiki hummed as he continued to cook.

"I'll send a bird to Kurenai then as long as you don't mind me borrowing one," the blond hummed, pouring more tea as Ibiki added some rice to the pan. "It's going to be interesting to tell them, especially since I also have to tell the other clan leaders about this and that's going to go over like a bag of rocks," he snorted, shaking his head as his companion gave him a look.

"I had forgotten you had taken your fathers place on your 18th birthday," Ibiki drawled as he dished out the food and handed a plate to Naruto.

"Not that I really care what they do as long as they don't try to fuck me over," came the reply, the fox settling in to eat his food.

"I think they're too afraid of Tsunade and her temper, especially after she tore apart the civilian council," Ibiki teased, watching Naruto blush a rather nice pink color.

"I don't control what she does and if she wants to destroy the lives of those who stick their noses into shinboi business, especially since they have no business doing so, then I'm not going to stop her." The tone and look on Naruto's face screamed innocence but the interrogator wasn't the least bit fooled, giving Naruto a look over his own plate. "Not my fault they wanted to go after me for dragging Sasuke back trussed up like a turkey."

"If I remember correctly, you called him such as you handed him over to me," Ibiki huffedstated, putting his plate down and heading out of the kitchen. "I need to get ready. So do you. We leave in 30. Don't forget anything."

"Will do."

An hour later found Naruto taking ANBU mission reports as several others went through Sakura's research files and personal items, occasionally getting up to do whatever they did when not figuring out why a shinobi had gone ape shit and turned on her own teammate. Sitting back, his body moving into a slow stretch, the fox stared at the suddenly filled space, blinking at the chest before him.

Looking up from the armor covered chest, he raised an eyebrow at the sparrow mask before him, knowing who it was, having worked with him before.

"Sparrow, what an interesting surprise. What brings you here this morning?" he asked the man in greeting. He had a feeling the other's eyes were glued to his head, watching the newest appendages twitch back and forth before flattening against his skull.

"So what has been happening while I've been gone?" came the soft question, making Naruto pout, just knowing there was an eyebrow raising upwards some where.

"Sakura went over the edge and fucked with me. Somehow it took the merged chakra that I have and formed it into physical magnifications of ears and tails. Or so I heard the ANBU doctor mutter earlier when he swung by to check me out," the small blond drawled, waving a hand towards the area that had things piled high, ANBU shifting through everything there.

"I see," Sparrow hummed quietly, reaching up to smooth down the skull cap he wore before turning his mask back to Naruto who was playing with a scroll on the table. "Are you free for lunch later?" he asked, drawing blue eyes upwards.

"Yeah, sure," Naruto hummed, smiling at his friend and nodding his head in agreement. "Swing by about 1 or so. I have to meet with Ibiki about 12 to see what has's been found and what I'm going to do until we can get rid of the ears, if ever."

"They're cute," Sparrow teased, tugging on one ear before disappearing with a puff of smoke and a 'see you later', a new scroll sitting before Naruto. Huffing, he reached forward and plucked the scroll up, opening it enough to sign the bottom of it before rolling it back up and putting it to the side for pick up.

As soon as noon rolled around, Naruto's hand felt well used and he was tired of his ears being tweaked by the ANBU operatives. Nearly running to Ibiki's office, he closed the door, smiling at the two men that were sitting there, looking at him with their eyes glowing in amusement.

"Hey, Ibiki, hey, Raidou," Naruto chirped, sitting down with a flop, nearly sprawling on his chair. "I thought we were going to meet for lunch after this," he said,, looking at Raidou, who just smiled lightly and shrugged his shoulders.

"My meeting with Ibiki-san ran over and we got talking about lunch. I figured I'd go out to get the food so you don't have to worry about your coat if that's alright with you," the scarred man returned, watching a whiskered face stretch into a smile.

"Sounds good. Who's paying?" Naruto asked, crossing his ankles as he looked at the two men.

"I am today," Ibiki drawled quietly, pushing back from the desk as he grabbed a pile of papers.

"Don't tell me you're doing a working lunch," Naruto teased, getting a dry look from Ibiki as he dropped the rolls into a box.

"If I hadn't suddenly been flooded with reports, I wouldn't have had to worry about it," the large man muttered, getting a shrug from the fox as Raidou grabbed the cash from Ibiki's drawer and quickly left. He wasn't getting in the middle of that conversation.

"Not my fault they decided to turn things in when I'm here," Naruto chirped, dropping into the chair that his friend had abandoned, surrounding himself with his calming scent.

"Yes it is. They think you're cute," Ibiki huffed, enjoying the barely there blush that was spreading over Naruto's cheeks.

"They decided that my ears were cute today," the fox pouted, looking out of the window, missing the look that flashed through the other man's eyes.

"So, who are you telling next?" Ibiki asked, drawing Naruto's eyes again.

"Kurenai and them next. They have time later on," he replied, blinking at the other man a few times.

"Here?"

"Yes, here. Since I'm here."

"Brat."

"Yep."


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Part: 10

Characters: Ibiki, Naruto, Team Kurenai

Word Count: 1,159

AN: Chapter 10, done. Please remember, that I won't be editing this story AGAIN once I'm done editing. Any chapters before this point are edited and not going to be edited again.

* * *

After lunch had been consumed, Raidou left to once more assume his normal duties while Naruto went back to collecting reports and files as Ibiki whittled down the ones on his desk.

Several new ANBU had taken to reading over the various pieces of information in the boxes that they had collected from Sakura's home and her office for Ibiki. The blond had sent a note to Kurenai and her team, getting one back from her, telling him what time they would be there for the meeting.

Looking towards the clock, Naruto sighed and stood up, heading into Ibiki's office, knowing that the other team would know where to find them, having been there before. Nodding to the ANBU head, he settled into a chair before the large man and his desk, legs crossing as he watched the other man.

"So find anything so far?" Naruto asked, drawing Ibiki's eyes away from the report that he had just signed off on. Waving his men out, waiting for them to leave, the scarred man rolled the current scroll up and put it in his outbox with the other scrolls before gazing at the notes that his men had left..

"No. The doctor was right though. It was designed to turn your chakra into a physical manifestation, thus your new ears, especially since your other ones disappeared on you," Ibiki replied, teasing the younger male, getting a scowl in return.

"I'm just glad I don't wear earrings like Shikamaru," Naruto snorted, getting a smirk and a nod.

"Indeed. Kurenai and her team are here by the way." Nodding his head to the door, the large man sat back as Naruto pulled his legs up and crossed them.

"Let's shock them, then we'll tell them," Naruto chirped, getting a low laugh from Ibiki as a knock came from the door.

"Enter," called Ibiki, sitting back to watch the fireworks that were soon to happen. Opening the door, Kureni clung to the door frame as Akumaru barreled past her, jumping on the blond they were there to see. Blinking, the genjutsu expert could have sworn she saw blond furred ears twitch before Naruto was taken down, chair and all, by a happy, huge nin dog.

"Ack! Down, Akumaru. Bad dog. Kiba, get the slobber monster off of me!" Naruto yelped, trying to get the large white dog off of him as he lapped at his cheeks.

"Sorry, Naruto," Kiba said, walking past the stunned Kureni and grabbed Akumaru's collar, pulling him off. Standing up, Naruto hid his smirk behind a sleeve as the four went silent at the sight of his ears and tail.

"So, the reason why I asked you to come see me, well you can see just why I did," the blond hummed as he righted his chair, turning to his friends with a smile.

Shino was buried in his coat, dark glasses giving nothing away, which didn't surprise Naruto in the least. Kurenai was still holding onto the door, red eyes glued to his twitching appendages on his head, her hands twitching along with them. Hinata was staring, reminding Naruto of how Neji tended to get a blank look when figuring out something. Kiba on the other hand was pointing at him and gaping at him in surprise.

"I take it the four of you want to know how Naruto has ended up with ears and a tail," Ibiki finally said, speaking for the first time since the four had walked into the office.

"That would be good to know," Kurenai said, dragging her eyes away from the twitching appendages.

"Actually, you can blame Sakura for them," Naruto said, scratching at Akumaru's ears, getting a happily panting dog whose tail became a rudder, fanning behind him quickly. "She, somehow, created something that messed with my chakra. It screwed around with me and gave me physical manifestations of my chakra system, lest I can tell." Everyone looked at him, the other team staring at him with some surprise at the insightful way of the blond. "What? I did have some time to think about this.

"From what Sakura said, and probably wrote down, she doesn't consider me human and wants the rest of the village to see things her way. She's self absorbed, thinks everything revolves around her, especially since she was Tsunade-baa-chan's student, completely forgetting that Shizune-chan is her apprentice and trumps her in all things. I figured that out while I was off training with Jiraiya."

"Then why did you let her inject you with the stuff that gave you the ears and tail?" Hinata asked, blushing slightly as everyone looked at her.

"Because of how she had been acting. She's been better for the last year or so. Remember, I can't tell anything from her scent since she learned how to control it, hide her feelings and pheromones by using her chakra," Naruto explained. "Most of us learned it to stop the Oto nins from finding us in the field remember?"

"Kinda had to. They liked their summons," Kiba snorted, Ibiki filing away all of the information coming out away. He hadn't known so many of the rookies had learned an ANBU and Hunter technique and probably in a short amount of time. Sitting back, he watched as the five talked back and forth about what had gone wrong in Sakura all the way up to what Naruto planned on doing.

"I'm going to talk with baa-chan about playing secretary for Ibiki while I train myself to be used to the tail and ears since I'm not sure they'll be removable," Naruto hummed, sitting cross legged on the couch, Akumaru's head in his lap and Kiba feeling a bit jealous about his partner sucking up to the other nin.

"Why aren't you sure she'll be able to remove them?" Shino asked, curious as to what was going on in their friends mind.

"They're made from my chakra, and to, say, just slice them off would be painful and rather futile since I have a feeling that they would grow back eventually," Naruto replied, tugging on one ear. They all agreed that it was a well thought out and probably true explanation. "So, what do you guys think?"

"I think I should be left in a room alone with the pink haired banshee for 10 minutes." Everyone turned to look at the normally shy and sweet Hinata with wide eyes, surprised at just what had come out her mouth.

"I think...you've been around my sister way to often," Kiba finally said, getting a bark of agreement from his dog partner.

"I think I just turned completely gay with that one statement," Naruto muttered from behind Ibiki, having run once Hinata had spoken. Ibiki just nodded, wondering if he should add any Hyuuga to the list of people banned from seeing Sakura.

"Who wants tea?" Kurenai suddenly chirped, smiling brightly. She was bound and determined to play with Narutos ears and if that meant plying him with tea, so be it.

Naruto just sighed.

Chapter 11Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Ibiki, Naruto

Part: 11

Word count: 1,024

AN:

Waving after Kurenai and her team as they finally left, Naruto sighed and shut the door behind him leaning on it with a distinctive thud, moaning softly and ignoring the snicker that came from Ibiki as the man leant back in his seat..

"Shove it. I want to see _you_ try to deal with Kurenai who is in full 'cute' mode," Naruto snorted, moving away from the door and flopping back into his chair, running a hand through his hair. "I swear that my ears would be petted off or something with the way she was looking at me like that."

"You poor thing," Ibiki hummed, smirk dancing on his lips, shaking his head at the pout forming on the blond's lips. The pout made him think things better thought when he was alone, in his bedroom, with silencing jutsus all around him, and a bottle of lube the size of his head at hand.

"I think I fear women even more then I did before," Naruto moaned, letting his head drop back against the back of his chair. "Man and I still have to tell Asuma's team and Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-sensei, not to mention Iruka-sensei. That's going to be scary."

"Iruka-san is a scary, scary nin," Ibiki hummed, shaking his head.

"At least he'll be able to stop Kakashi from going pervy on me. Ever since he read the Icha Icha that had a cat boy in it, he's been waiting to see me with a tail and ears, or even better to him, Iruka-sensei with ears and a tail," Naruto huffed, shaking his head with a slight smile. "I should also bug Yamamotoato-sensei and tell him about the meeting."

"What is it with you and the mass amounts of senseis?" Ibiki laughed, watching Naruto's eyes sparkle at him.

"I had a lot of learning and relearning of things. After all, the teachers before Iruka didn't want anything to do with me and teaching me. I had to relearn writing, stances and a dozen other things that I needed to know to be a proper nin," Naruto explained, making Ibiki frown, not liking that fact. "Iruka-sensei taught me everything I needed to know and the others all helped me perfect other things. By the by, Tsunade-baa-chan has fixed the academy so that no child, no matter their skill level or their situation would ever be left behind."

"Sounds good to me," the bald man drawled, checking the time before standing. "Come on, let's get going. I want to get food and enjoy it without being bothered. We'll send out messenger birds to those we need to speak with and then we'll come back. Anko is working over Sakura again. She had a visitor under a very powerful jutsu that my ANBU couldn't see, or rather wouldn't have been able to see under," Ibiki said, getting a curious look from Naruto.

"Really?" the fox asked as they walked out of the office, the ANBUs that were standing around nodding from their spots in respect.

"Yeah. Sakura hasn't said anything on why the man visited outside of telling us that she didn't know him. Only one ANBU saw him and agrees with her," the interrogation expert told the small blond next to him, watching lightly furred ears twitch in annoyance.

"What about the cameras?" Naruto asked as they stepped into the sunlight, both men squinting slightly under the light.

"Something knocked the fucking sound out, so they're useless. Whoever it was, they knew what to expect and how to deal with it, including not showing their face to the cameras," was the growled response. Naruto patted one large arm in sympathy, knowing how it happened had hit at Ibiki's ego and pride in the set up of the ANBU holding cells.

"You and the psycho will figure it out," the smaller male promised, smiling softly as they walked down the streets, his hood once more hiding Naruto's ears. "Do you..." he started, trailing off and looking down at the ground, drawing a look of curiosity from his companion.

"Do I what?" Ibiki prompted, raising a non-existent eyebrow at the blond male.

"Not to sound like I want the world to revolve around me, but do you think that the meeting between this mystery man and Sakura was about me?" Naruto asked. The two lapsed into a silence as they walked into the more popular shinobi restaurant and bar, taking a seat at a booth that afforded privacy.

"There is a high possibility of that being the case. From Anko's report, Sakura looked almost as smug as she did when she first told Sasuke about why she did what she did to you," Ibiki finally said after the gave their waiter their orders and he had moved away from their table.

"That's not good," Naruto sighed, rubbing at his face with a groan. "As it is, I'm probably going to be off balance with the damn tail. I'm going to have to retrain myself while I hope that we can get rid of the damn things someday. On top of that, my own fucking teammate turned on me."

"That reminds me, you have to tell Sai-san too," Ibiki drawled, getting a moan as Naruto dropped his head onto the table.

"Oh man, just fuck me sideways," the blond muttered, making Ibiki's mind drop straight into the gutter once more and the large man shift as he fought his natural response to the images.

"It won't be too bad, I hope," Ibiki replied, unsurprised at the glare his words got in return. "Let's eat for now. We'll worry about all of that later," he promised, getting a nod as Naruto sat up as their food arrived.

They sent off the messenger birds for the last people to be told, Naruto using one of his frog contracts to send a message to the clan council to set up a meeting when they had time in their busy schedules. The two didn't speak about Sakura, the mystery man or what the future held for the rest of their lunch, but never once ran out of things to talk about.

Chapter 12Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Part: 12

Characters: Asuma, Iruka, Naruto, Kakashi, Ino, Sai, Yamato, Shikamaru, Choji, Ibiki

Word count: 1,067

AN:

"So, why do you suppose Naruto called us over here?" Choji asked, raising one eyebrow at the group around him. Shikamaru just snorted and shook his head as he leant back into the couch he was sitting on. Asuma shrugged as he watched Iruka scowl at Kakashi, who was buried in his book once more. YamamotoYamato was snickering to a sketching Sai while Ino grumbled about wanting to go home and pain in the ass, late blonds.

"I'm hardly late, Ino-chan," Naruto stated as he and Ibiki stepped inside of the office. "Ibiki-san and I were enjoying our breakfast and not being bothered by people."

"Why did you call us? This had better be important, Naruto, cause I want to go home," Ino said, crossing her arms as she watched her fellow blond take his sweet time in perching on Ibiki's desk. Ibiki himself just sat behind said desk and sat back in his chair.

"Do I ever call a meeting without having a good reason?" Naruto asked as he settled onto his perch, coat sprawling around him on the desk.

"He's right. Sit down, Ino-chan. We all want to go home after last night but this must be important," Shikamaru drawled, bored and his eyes showing it.

"Yep, actually is," Naruto chirped, shrugging with a smile at the other male, getting a look from the lazy nin. "So, Sakura went over the deep end and did some human experimentation on me, which ended up taking my merged chakra and giving it physical form." Tugging his hood down, the blond felt his ears twitch before enjoying the reactions of the ones around him.

Asuma choked on the drag of cigarette he had in his lugs, eyes watching as he bent over, staring at the twitching ears. Choji's eyes widened at the sight and the chip he was about to eat fell to his lap, fingers limp. Shikamaru looked like he had some life to him, body nearly vibrating as he leant forward to get a better look.

Sai was stock still, unblinking as his pencil twitched, mind whirling with possible ways of getting Naruto into his studio, wondering what else was different about his teammate. Iruka was in full fuss mode, smoothing down the blond hair, fussing with the fur that lightly covered the ears and making sure that his little brother was mentally and physically okay.

Ino was cooing softly, trying to walk over to the blond, Shikamaru rousing out of his shocked, or rather excited, state to grab onto her waist and pull her back down onto the couch. YamamotoYamato was blushing very slightly and not looking at Naruto, or trying not to, stealing looks occasionally. Kakashi , as his blond student had predicted, was perving out over him, eyes sparkling brightly at his mind conjured up images of a puppy eared Iruka hugging a dew eyed, fox eared Naruto as they sent pleading looks to him…

A well placed flare of killer intent knocked everyone but Naruto and Iruka out of their various states, making their eyes turn to a smug looking Ibiki.

"Now that we all know, I need to ask you guys if you've noticed or seen Sakura acting strange lately," the bald interrogator said as Naruto moved to a couch with Iruka and cuddled up to him.

"Nope. Don't really hang out with her outside of training and missions now days. I've been working on a new style of attack with an old jutsu," Sai drawled, pencil once more moving over the sketch pad before him, eyes dancing up to Naruto and Iruka before turning back to his pad.

"She's been following Sasuke around again, but that's been the normal thing with her since he's come back," Kakashi drawled, eye narrowing. "I've also seen her glare at Naruto for no apparently reason, but again, that seems to be normal," he finished almost musingly.

"I don't know her well enough to really say anything about her, but like Sai, I haven't really seen her except during training and missions with Team 7," YamamotoYamato mused.

"Outside of Ino, my team doesn't really interact with her," Asuma mused, lighting a fresh cigarette before quickly killing it when Naruto sneezed several times in a row. "Sorry, forgot the smoke annoys you when you're close enough to it," he apologized, clearing his throat and opening the office window.

"I've been training with my dad to learn some new mind techniques but I have hung out with her a few times in the last few months," Ino hummed, pale blue eyes narrowing as she thought.

"No one else in the other teams really noticed anything outside of her new disdain for hanging out in groups of more then a few people," Naruto said, basking under the long fingered hand that was playing with his hair.

"She's missed the lectures that she had promised to do at the academy for those students looking to the medical side of a nin's life," Iruka added, frowning lightly as he remembered how hard it was to get a hold of her after finding out that she had skipped out entirely.

"Sounds like something triggered her to go back to her old personality, including her old dislikes and obsessions, but much stronger then before," Shikamaru drawled, leaning back against the back of the couch, head resting on the cushions, eyebrows drawn together. "She knows about the Kyuubi…but does she know about how much contact you have with him?" he asked, cracking on eye open to gaze at Naruto.

"I don't know. I have to talk with him to make sure nothing is wrong with him, much less the seal, but I do talk with him just because. He's smart and has helped me learn a lot about how a mind works," the blond hummed, frowning slightly before laying his head onto Iruka's shoulder.

"If all of you can write out reports about her and what you can remember from the last year, I would appreciate it," Ibiki said as Naruto relaxed again. "The trial will start in about a week and a half. During this time, Naruto will stay with me, tell the clan leaders what has happened, go to Tsunade-sama for tests and my ANBU will continue to go through her notes and papers," he continued, getting nods from everyone and a troublesome from Shikamaru, getting a quiet laugh from Naruto.

Chapter 13Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 13

Characters:

Word count:

AN:

Telling Naruto to go on out later that evening, Ibiki watched the small fox smile and leave with Iruka, before turning to the window where a cloudy sky was pressing against the glass. His mind was busy, distracted from the work that waited for him to finally get to it. So far, Naruto's friends seemed rather accepting, if not very surprised that Sakura had done such a thing to Naruto. Which said a lot to Ibiki about her mental state in at least the last six months, making him wonder why reports of worry had never cross his or the Hokage's desk during that time either.

An ANBU in a snake mask knocked on the door, interrupting his thoughts, and stepped in, holding a single file box in his hands.

"Sir, we found some evidence that Sakura has been messing with filed complaints about her and a couple of others, including ones that were attached to mission reports," Snake said, freezing at the dark look that passed over Ibiki's face.

"Who were they from?" Ibiki asked, voice cold as Snake stood rigid before his desk.

"Shikamaru, Naruto, Sasuke mostly," he replied, looking down. "At least from the cursory glance through," he continued, getting a sharp nod.

"Put them here. I'll go through them later. Tell the day shift to write up what they have found out, put the things aside and leave," Ibiki ordered. Nodding his head, Snake put the box down and went to leave to fulfill his new orders. He knew that night shift would arrive soon and pick up where they left off.

Opening the box, Ibiki was unsurprised to find it filled with complaint forms, most of them from those she worked with often enough, and very few coming from Sai and Ino, two of the four she worked with the most supposedly. Shuffling through them, he found that they were mostly complaints about her going on sudden and rather violent rants whenever her authority was questioned or she had to do menial labor work.

It looked as if he was going to have to speak with Shizune and others at the Shinobi hospital soon. Writing down that note, along with one to speak with Tsunade, the interrogation expert looked out the window once more, finding that the clouds had gotten even heavier, making the outside world seem more like dusk then late afternoon. The building that sat over the land of the ANBU complex was dark, windows non-existent. But the buildings that created the rest of the village were shining bright, almost outshining the left over light that broke through the clouds. The sight helped to soothe his frazzled nerves that had been strung out since the moment he had been called to work the investigation.

His peace was shattered when Anko burst into his office looking rather ruffled, in quite a bit of pain and pissed enough to kill someone very slowly.

"The little bitch somehow got out!" Anko screeched, a medic nin fussing by her side, looking as if he had been trying to help the snake mistress since she had left the holding cells.

Standing up from his chair, Ibiki ordered her to get fixed before moving to figure out how Sakura had gotten out.

By the time Ibiki got home, Naruto had cleaned his home, top to bottom, made their lunches for the next day and was out on his couch, a book about seals lying under his hand on the floor. Feeling the day melt away, Ibiki sat down on the chair next to the couch and watched the small male sleep, deciding to wait until the next day to tell Naruto about Sakura's escape with someone's help. He looked too peaceful at the moment to tell him that once more his life was in danger.

Chapter 14

A week later found Naruto pouting on the ground, eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath as Sasuke muttered curses and Hinata dabbed at his cuts with an alcohol soaked cotton ball.

"At least we know your stamina and chakra stores haven't changed any," Sasuke drawled, getting laughter from his companions. "So, what have they said about what the pink pain in the ass did?" he asked curiously.

"What she did to me, or about her breakout?" Naruto asked in return as he sat up and stretched his arms over his head as Hinata put the first aid kit aside.

"You first, escape second," the darker male drawled as he sat back. The soft sounds of footsteps announced the arrival of a pretty blond with cold bottles of water in her hands. "Hello, beautiful," Sasuke greeted, watching his fiancé blush lightly.

"Hello, you there. Sasuke, when you come home, please collect the rest of the mail? We have some unhappy people about our engagement," she said, getting a nod and smile from her fiancé before she left.

"You lucked out having such an understanding fiancé, especially since she's a civilian," Naruto hummed, sipping at his water as Sasuke's eyes and face softened.

"Yeah, I did. I'm very lucky and thank all of the Gods that I agreed to meet her when Itachi bugged me about it," the Uchiha hummed. "She told me that if she could have, she would have gone into the medical corps."

"What stopped her?" Hinata asked, curious about the civilian nurse.

"A weird ankle and knee. They tend to go out at sudden intervals so she needs to wear a brace. Tsunade-san is looking into a possible fix, but it'll be when I have enough vacation and enough 'mini missions' time saved up," Sasuke replied, feeling sad that his future wife's dream as a kunoichi medic had been cut short. "But, she's absolutely amazing as a child's nurse and is looking at a promotion to head nurse at the hospital here soon."

"Man, if only she had been around when I had been a brat," Naruto sighed, falling backwards onto his back as Hinata perched on his stomach.

"Stop avoiding answering the questions," she scolded, poking his nose with a giggle, watching blue eyes cross.

"Well, since my ears are functional, they can't be removed, couldn't be anyways. They and my tail are like stores of chakra," Naruto said after a few moments of gazing at his friends. "Since they act like stores, the tail can't be removed either because of that."

"Oh, Naru-kun," Hinata sighed lowly, reaching down to scratch behind Narutos ears, giggling lightly at the rumble she got.

"So, we have to wait huh?" Sasuke drawled, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees. Playing with his water bottle, he let his mind mull over the problems that had hit his friend over his life time. It was almost as if the blond had a large sign on his back but the dark haired man knew that every time something went wrong with him, something else went right for him.

Sasuke hoped that the good would happen after such a nasty wrong.

"So, what about Sakura?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Naruto who was using Hinata like a teddy bear, not that she was complaining.

"We have no idea how the fuck she got out," Naruto snorted, getting smacked on the shoulder by their female companion.

"Language," she scolded.

"Yes, Hinata-chan," they chorused together, drawing a smile and a laugh from her.

"Anyway, there isn't any evidence as to who or what got her out but I have ANBU watching over me when I'm not with Ibiki or around a lot of my friends. All we know is that the collar that had held her had been frozen and snapped," Naruto continued, shrugging as he rested his head on Hinata's shoulder.

"Though, somehow, Hiashi-san found out about my new attachments and he's promised the Hyuuga-clan's support," he mused as he idly playing with Hinata's long, dark hair thinking about how Hiashi could have found out. "I'm to see the rest of the clan heads sometime soon. Itachi-san will have to be there, but you probably won't have to be since you know already," he warned, getting a snort from his friend. Lifting his head, Naruto smiled lightly at his friend. "Come on, let's go eat. I smell something fried."

"Maybe Kimi made those odd blooming onion things," Hinata hummed, looking quite interested in that possibility. Sasuke shook his head with another snort as they stood up from the ground, Naruto starting to get up, eyes bouncy and just as interested.

"Come on. Let's go raid the kitchen under my fiancé's ever so amused eyes," Sasuke drawled, getting a shy smile from Hinata and a knowing grin from Naruto.

"Your Kimi-chan is used to us by now. Though I fear what would happen if she tried to take over Ibiki's kitchen. We would probably find out just how strong she can be," Naruto hummed, eyes glittering in amusement as Sasuke scowled.

"She already has Itachi playing good boy when he's home and I dare not make her unhappy," Sauske admitted. Shrugging slightly with a smirk, the dark haired man brushed his fingers through his hair. "Though I can't say I mind one tiny bit."

"You're in love," Naruto teased Sasuke, pushing at his head with his own smile.

"Come on! Food!" Hinata pouted, getting soft laughter from her friends as she dragged them towards the house.

Watching the three walk towards the main house, Sparrow sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. Muttering to himself, he followed discreetly after them, watching over Naruto as he trained and figured out his body once more. The blond hadn't even told the village what had happened yet, seeing as there was no real reason to worry everyone just yet, especially since the pink haired bitch had gotten loose. Not that they knew how just yet, but it was looking to be an inside job.

So here he was, playing babysitter without the blonds knowledge on Ibiki's command. Of course, if Naruto found out, that would be one fight that he would rather miss then watch.

Nodding to Itachi, the masked man perched on a tree limb as the three walked into the house, Kimi greeting them from the sounds of it.

"How are they?" Itachi asked quietly, gazing at the other man.

"Good. Naruto is gaining his balance once more, quite quickly too, which is good to see," Sparrow hummed, getting a curt nod.

"Has he shown how he feels about his new attachments?" Itachi asked. He looked from the window he had been watching at the feeling of his companion's amusement that rolled off of him.

"That's more of a question for Ibiki-san," Sparrow drawled before bounding off to a new tree, leaving the eldest Uchiha to his thoughts.

Chapter 15

"So, there was absolutely no trace of whoever got her out of the cell? We knew this. What I want to know is how the fuck they got past the guards that were watching her," Ibiki growled, Anko pacing around his office as two of the ANBU who were working the case stood before his desk, masks hiding their expressions.

"We actually did discover how they got past the guards," Wolf replied, pulling out a piece of paper with a seal on it, placing it down on the desk. "Apparently, the first time he had gotten in, he had had a seal master plant these around the ceiling."

"What exactly do they do?" Ibiki asked, examining the copy of the seal, eyes squinting to check out the fine details of it.

"In a way, it slows time down, or makes it seem like it. It turns the air around you heavy, and in turn, your body feels heavy. It makes it easy for someone going pretty fast to be invisible to those under its influence," Sparrow stated, raising one eyebrow behind his mask as Anko growled. "We wouldn't have found them at all except that Anko-san decided to go crawling around the ceilings and walls, which set them off on the rest of us."

"And what happened after she set it off? I have a feeling that there is a rather interesting story there," the scarred man said, smirking at the moan that came from Anko.

"Oh, just shove it would you? I fell off the damn ceiling. When the seal activates it apparently also messes with your chakra system. So I lost the ability to hold myself up on the rather high ceiling," she growled, getting smug smiles, knowing that Wolf and Sparrow had ones on their lips even behind the masks. "I will start getting people who dare make a joke about this," she hissed, getting a bark of laughter from Ibiki. He found his apprentices reactions to be very interesting, fun to watch.

"So I take it if we can, we can hunt for the person who set the traps and hopefully find out who got her out?" Wolf asked, getting a nod from Ibiki as he smirked. The three tensed as their boss and friend frowned and laid his arms on the table.

"I worry about Naruto. I do not doubt that she will come after him as soon as she's able to, and she will more then likely try to further her agenda against him. Somehow, it just happens to coincide with whoever got her out and their own plans," he finally said, drawing the threes attention to a new detail that they hadn't figured out.

"Why would she go after him after all this? Especially after she had seen and been told what would happen to her?" Wolf asked, looking between his companions.

"That's the next thing we're going to have to deal with your lack of knowledge about psychology," Sparrow snorted, patting his trainee's back. "You're lucky you're smart in a lot of other ways. Now, as to your question, Sakura is a narcissistic sociopath who thinks that the world should revolve around her and believe everything that she believes and sees and nothing more. She wants to be the one controlling everything and everybody, but she doesn't want the responsibility that comes with it."

"She is, unfortunately, a very dangerous opponent since she's such a wild card in her way of thinking and acting," Anko drawled, Wolf nodding his head, seemingly thinking about what he had been told.

"For now, the three of you need to head off and continue to hunt for clues as to what happened and who got her out," Ibiki ordered.

"Yes, sir," Wolf and Sparrow replied, nodding their heads. Anko growled lowly and disappeared in a small puff of smoke along with Wolf. Sparrow hummed softly, brushing a bit of hair back under his skull cap.

"Sir, how is Naruto-kun doing?" Sparrow asked, voice worried. Ibiki sat back and rubbed at his head, eyes closing as he laid his head onto the back of the seat.

"He's trying to focus on the here and now for the moment. He's so worried about what Sakura is planning to do now that she's loose once more. On top of that, he has the meeting with the clan heads, so he's reading over the information we've found and making sure that he has all of the information straight," he finally stated, rubbing at his eyes with a sigh of disgust. "He's working himself into a state of exhaustion nearly every night and that rather worries me."

"He's always been that way. I suggest you go home early sometime this week and drag him away from his prepping, preferably tonight since he meets with the clan heads tomorrow," Sparrow stated. Ibiki sighed and nodded his head with a look on his face.

"Fine, I will trust you on this about him," the bald male drawled, Sparrow smiling behind his mask. "Now, go teach Wolf about psychology and the human mind."

"Yes, sir," the ANBU drawled, bowing before leaving quickly with his own puff of smoke. Sighing, the large man stretched his legs out before him before looking towards the wall clock. Seeing the time, he figured that Naruto would be at home and burying himself in research once more. Standing up, he left instructions for anything unimportant to be sent to Anko for the rest of the day. Locking his office up behind him, he left the building and headed for the home he currently shared with the sweet fox.

Arriving at the house, he sent Itachi off before entering, finding Naruto nibbling on a fry and going over his speech once more, trying hard to find something wrong with it.

"Naruto, put that away and come with me. We need to get away from your rather intense work and relax," the large man said, drawing blue eyes away from the papers and to him.

"What?" Naruto asked, blinking in surprise when Ibiki snorted and took his speech away from his hands before drawing the blond away from the table.

"Help me pack a simple dinner and I'll show you around the grounds since I wasn't able to last week with all of the chaos," Ibiki stated, getting a small smile from the younger man before he nodded. Together, the two packed a basket before leaving the home, heading into the woods that surrounded the house, heading for a small meadow area.

Chapter 16

Heading through the woods, the two rarely talking as they hiked, Ibiki and Naruto enjoyed the rare quiet time that they found themselves in.

"Are we almost there?" Naruto asked curiously, the two pausing as Naruto clipped a few herbs that Tsunade wanted to test whenever they found some.

"Almost. We just need to get through these woods," Ibiki drawled, pointing to several tall wheat like stalks.

"Tsunade-baa-chan uses those in some of her remedies. They're very useful if annoying in the fact that they grow anywhere they seed," Naruto hummed, feeling rather proud of himself at having remembered that fact. Ibiki smiled and nodded as he led the smaller male through the plants before them.

"I also use them in a few of my own concoctions. With the right ingredients, the resulting paste creating a slow heating feeling. It doesn't physically damage a person, but it does burn," the large man said, looking over his shoulder, getting a wide eyed look.

"It sounds as if there's a lot more to interrogation then just pain," Naruto said, a smile dancing on Ibiki's lips at that.

"That's correct. It's also part psychological. If you want, I can find some books on the subject for you," he offered.

"Yes, please. Psychological warfare is something I've been interested in but I just never really got around to learning about it," Naruto replied, his voice bright with interest as they stepped into a large grassy area, drawing blue eyes to the simplistic beauty of the area. Green grass melded with wheat colored stalks, creating a very interesting effect for the eyes as wild flowers added sets of bright bursts of color. "Wow. How have you kept this to yourself for so long?" the blond asked, voice breathless.

"I bought the land the moment I became part of ANBU, just for this beautiful bit of peace," Ibiki admitted. Looking up at the other male, Naruto smiled brightly and patted his arm. "Come on, let's lay out the blanket and eat dinner."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Naruto hummed, taking the basket from Ibiki and hunting for a proper spot to set up for their dinner. Finding the right spot, he set the basket down and pulled out the blanket, laying it out under Ibiki's watchful eyes. The large man had to smile as he watched all of the tension slowly leech out of Naruto with every passing minute. It was looking as if Sparrow had been right that the small blond would need to be dragged away from his work to be able to relax fully.

He would have to do something nice for the ANBU.

"Com on, Ibiki, I want to eat," Naruto called from his spot. Laughing lowly, the large man walked over to where his companion was waiting for him and slipped off his jacket, leaving him in a pair of pants, boots and long sleeved shirt. Naruto blushed at just how tight the clothes were and sat on the ground with a sigh of pleasure, blond hair ruffling in the breeze around him. His companion sat next to him and helped him unload the basket, spreading out the food.

Once that was done, Ibiki settled in with his rice ball as Naruto hummed happily over his own plate of food. The two continued to enjoy their meal, eyes closed over the tastes that slid over their taste buds before Ibiki decided to break their silence.

"How are your friends taking you being the way you are now?" he asked, getting a curious blink from the smaller man. "I know that you've been working with Hinata-san and Sasuke-san, but outside of that information…" he trailed off. Naruto grinned at the use of his closest friends names, having tried to get Ibiki to use them before but he had never been quite successful.

"As far as I know, they're still good with it. They've been training and doing missions just like I have lately, at least the training part since I'm still doing desk missions mostly," Naruto drawled, getting a smirk from his companion. "Though, Neji-kun is moving in with his lovers." Ibiki nodded a bit, Naruto counting to see how long it would take the other man to react to the news.

"Wait, lovers?"

Ten seconds, give or take a few nano seconds.

Ibiki was feeling thrown off by the news, Naruto looking smug about being able to throw off the man and enjoying the gobsmacked look on his face. Getting rid of the look, the large man wondered how he had missed Neji getting not with just one person but two, especially since he came from such a rigid clan.

"So who is he with?" he finally asked, wondering if he should break into the sake bottles that he had brought along with them.

"Kakashi and Iruka," Naruto chirped happily. Ibiki groaned and pulled out the sake bottle after all. The blond laughed as the man opened the bottle before finding a cup for himself, downing the drink in one swig, muttering about surprises and being to damn old for them. "But Ibiki-san, you're only 28," Naruto teased, getting a dry look from his companion, sending him into another round of laughter.

Chapter 17

Drawing off his dirtied shirt, Neji sighed quietly and stretched very slowly as he cracked his back, more then happy to be home once more. He had moved in with his surprise lovers nearly a week before Sakura had fucked Naruto over, but he had never told anyone seeing as just who his lovers were. Who would think that Iruka and Kakashi had taken an interest in him?

But they had once they had set about wooing him he had been helpless against them. Not that he had really tried to fight against them once he knew that they weren't playing with him. He had loved every moment of it and still did.

Long arms snaked around his waist and pulled him close to a strong, lean body. Sighing with a happy tone, Neji melted into Kakashi with a smile dancing on his lips, hands resting on the white arms.

"Kakashi, how was the mission? Did anything turn up about the psycho bitch?" he asked in greeting as Kakashi nuzzled into his neck.

"Once again, nothing. Her disappearing act is making all of us really twitchy about things," the silver haired nin hummed against soft skin, smirk spreading at the full body shiver.

"We'll find her. After all, there's half the village after her," Neji drawled, feeling his lover laugh and nod. "I have to be at the clan meeting by the I'm now the head of the branch family of the Hyuuga clan, I get to go to the various meetings when I'm not dealing with missions," he told his lover. Kakashi hummed and nodded as he ran his hands down over the long haired man's sides, finding the bottom of his undershirt and sliding under it.

He chuckled as Neji wiggled and glared lightly as he pulled it off, tossing it to the laundry basket. Pulling away, the younger of the two shed his pants and boxers, leaving him nude as Kakashi watched him with appreciative eyes. Gathering a pair of boxers, a towel and a large shirt that had once been Iruka's before Neji had claimed it as his own.

"I need a shower like you wouldn't believe. Not only did I have gate duty, but I was stuck helping at the academy for testing, oral at least. How Iruka-san can stand doing such a thing every day I will never know," Neji hummed, pausing in the bathroom doorway and looking over his shoulder at the staring Kakashi. "So, do you want to join me for that shower?" he asked, all innocence and sweetness. The silver haired man smirked, eyes sparkling at the teasing note in his mate's voice.

"Such a tempting offer, and one I plan on accepting," Kakashi drawled, tugging off his own clothing and tossing them aside, intent on placing his claim on the younger male again. He knew that Iruka and Neji had been busy during the last couple of days while he had been gone. He could smell the fresh and stale scent of sex and lust. Following after the lean man, he stood in the doorway and watched as his lover set up the shower, a bath for after and their various toiletries.

When they had first brought in Neji as their third, they hadn't expected the youngest of them to take over the household duties, outside of laundry, which Iruka enjoyed doing. The young Hyuuga cleaned, despite the fact that the there wasn't much too clean, cooked with Iruka and shopped whenever he had time. It was nice and something that the youngest member wanted to do, instead of feeling he needed to do it to appease his lovers.

And when it was just them, just the three of them, Neji made sure that they were spoiled and loved. That is, when he and Iruka didn't spoil him before he had a chance.

Lighting a candle that he knew Kakashi enjoyed, Neji stepped under the hot spray of the water, sighing happily at the warmness that soaked into his body. Kakashi was quick to follow after, stepping in after the other with a smile at the thought of a wet and slippery Hyuuga that smirked over his shoulder at him.

"Hello there," Neji purred, eyes sparkling brightly as he wiggled and pressed into the strong body as he turned around to face the silver haired man. "Now that you have me all alone, all wet and slippery, what is it you plan on doing?" he asked teasingly. Kakashi smirked and slid his hands down the lean body before cupping the other's ass, fingers trailing over the sweet entrance he found there. Neji shivered and bit his bottom lip as he ran his own hands over pale, scarred skin.

"I have a few ideas on what I plan on doing, including making you scream my name, loudly," Kakashi growled, leaning down and nibbling at his neck, feeling his long haired mate shiver under his lips. Neji moaned contently, shifting against the other man as his own hands found the long dick he wanted to fuck him silly.

"Can foreplay wait for a few hours?" he asked, eyes sparkling and wide. Kakashi groaned, knowing just what the younger male wanted and he was more then willing to give it to Neji. Smirking, the silver haired man bit into the supple skin of his mate's neck as he slid a water-slicked finger straight into the grasping body, dragging a wailing moan from the other.

Feeling rather smug, Kakashi purred and suckled on the skin in his mouth, finger moving in and out of the lean body, opening him up for the upcoming fun. Another finger found its way into Neji's body, feeling the way the lean body was shivering, not moving or wiggling to get more. Neji knew better then to move when Kakashi was nibbling or biting him, but he found it hard not to move in ways that excited them both.

Letting up on Neji's neck once more, the silver haired male smirked at the dark hickey that was already rising, darkening the usually pale skin, marking him as a claimed mate. A third finger was slipped into the loosening entrance, Neji's hand moving over Kakashi's hard length once more, teasing him into growling for him. Moving his fingers once more, Kakashi made sure that his youngest lover was open and ready for him, the wiggling body opening under his fingers, knowing what was going to happen.

Sighing and grabbing the small jar of the waterproof oil that they used for various reasons, Neji opened the jar and poured a good amount onto his hand and slicked his mate's length. Kakashi groaned lowly and hefted Neji up, wrapping his legs around his waist and pressed the other into the wall, rubbing against him for a moment. They both groaned before Kakashi reached downwards and positioned his cock at the loose entrance and pressed inwards, feeling the sweet body open and accept him willingly.

Growling into Neji's ear as he buried himself in Neji's body, the silver haired man paused once he was completely in, hips pressed against hips, allowing the darker colored male the chance to adjust to the intrusion. Shifting so that he was properly braced, hands clutching at lean hips, Kakashi pulled out before snapping his hips upwards, getting a chocked moan from Neji as he started to move in and out of the willing, happily clenching body, setting a strong pace.

Neji couldn't stop his body from moving, hips rocking and pressing into each of Kakashi's thrusts, drawing his lover as deep as possible as he clawed at his lover's shoulders. With the water falling over them, their bodies moved together slickly, the both of them unable to do much more then vocalize their pleasure. The Hyuuga's sounds got louder as Kakashi wrapped his hand around his lover's cock, stroking in time with his thrusts.

It didn't take long for either of them to find their peak, Neji falling over first, tightening and fluttering around Kakashi as he came, the slickness washing away under the fall of water. Kakashi growled lowly and clamped onto the other man's neck, spilling into his mate's body, once more making his claim. Neji just moaned and went limp, eyes glazed and body pleasantly sore. Laughing lowly, the older male pulled out and cleaned the both of them up, the younger male watching with glazed eyes, before tumbling him into their bed, Iruka walking in with a tray.

"When did you get home?" Kakashi asked, greeting the brunette with a slow kiss.

"About the time that Neji was begging for more and harder," Iruka hummed. "Enough time to make a simple dinner for us," he continued.

"Delightful," Kakashi hummed.

Chapter 18

Trailing her hand over her side, Sakura had to giggle softly and twirl around a bit. She had been given such beautiful things that looked good on her, or so she thought. They ranged in various shades of red and pink and made her happy, that was all she cared about.

After all, she deserved fine things since she would soon be Mrs. Sasuke Uchiha. But first they had to destroy the idiot who was holding her Sasuke-kun back, the stupid bastard monster that had screwed up her life with his lies.

Scowling, she kicked over the freestanding mirror, enjoying the crash of it as she turned away from the flying shards of glass and stomped towards her door.

Pausing, she took a deep breath and smoothed a hand down over her dress, making sure the dark red fabric hugged her curves just right before reaching down and opening it. Glaring at the man who stood there, she sniffed and walked past him, missing the dull look of disgust on the shinobi's face as he followed behind her.

What she didn't know, despite all the promises her savior had made, the man was going to enjoy using her. They all knew it, except the pink haired banshee who was going to fuck them all over in the long run. The male shifted on his feet, feeling a bit uncomfortable before he quickly squashed it. He still had a job to do after all. He just hadn't expected it to include Sakura. Grumbling, he made a note to send the new information to Ibiki when he wasn't being watched like a hawk.

Sakura just smugly smirked as she headed towards where she was supposed to meet her benefactor. Opening the door, once more sneering at the guards there, she stepped out and slammed the door behind her. The three guards just shared a look and shook their heads in annoyance at having to deal with the one they had dubbed the pink toy poodle.

Staring at the man before her, Sakura smirked as he looked up with his one uncovered eye and smirked in return.

"Sakura, what a delight," he drawled lowly, sitting back and waving to a seat with a bandaged covered arm. Once more, she felt a bit of curiosity as to why he covered his arm in such a way before shoving it back from her thoughts. She had no concerns except how the man would help her get Sasuke-kun to see Naruto as the demon he was. "I hope that your rooms are approved of, along with the dresses."

"Of course," she hummed, green eyes glinting. Danzo knew that she would have to be taken care of eventually. He just hoped that it wouldn't be for a while yet since he did have many plans that included her.

"Sit," he said, leaning forward to rest on his elbows, eye watching her as she took the seat, her skirt slitting to show an indecent amount of leg. "I have heard rumors that the brat is training once more, mostly with the Uchiha. He's also being watched over by a very possessive Ibiki, or so my eyes tell me," he started, listening to her snort, having looked down at his files, flipping through them.

"Naruto has always been one to try and get all the attention on him, the pain in the ass," she said, insult dripping from her voice. "Why anyone would want to be possessive over him, I will never understand."

"Ah, but Ibiki is a complex man. No one has been able to figure him out," Danzo drawled, sitting back in his chair as he flipped a few pages. "They seem to be getting closer. It also seems as if all of your papers have been locked up tighter then the Hokage's pussy." The pink haired female snickered lowly at the insult, eyes glinting at the thought of getting back at her ex-teacher next. "She's been going over the files, even as she whittles away at my power."

"You'll get it back, no worries," Sakura said, brushing off the threat, getting a dry look.

"It also seems as if Uzumaki has a meeting with the clan heads," he continued, watching Sakura sit up straight, making him smirk. It looked as if he had hit a point that she hadn't known about. Good.

"Why would that demon have a meeting with the clan heads?" she snapped, making Danzo wonder just why he had offered her, her freedom in exchange for her working for him.

"Because, he has a clan name, but no one knows which one it is," Danzo snorted, tossing the file before him, Naruto's picture attached to it. Most of it was blacked out, a few lines clear and readable, mostly about his fighting abilities. "At least no one who isn't part of the clan council knows. The clan heads of course aren't talking and I doubt that they ever will, even under torture. They're smart to keep the knowledge hidden."

"Why is that?" Sakura asked, scowling at the fact that Naruto had a clan name instead of being the damnable orphan that no one cared about that he should have been.

"Because, if his file is this blacked out, then his parents are very important in the scheme of things," Danzo explained, scowling at her for not thinking of it. She was supposed to be the smartest of her year, but it seemed as if her madness was affecting her mental abilities. "Listen to me, Sakura, if he's important, he will be heavily guarded until you're either caught or we're able to do what we want to do. I want that little bastard as my tool, my weapon!"

Wincing, Sakura scowled and nodded her head as the man before her dropped the copy of Naruto's file into one drawer. She knew better then to bother him when he was pissed off or agitated. In the short time that she had been with him, he had shown her just why he was the leader of ROOT and why people didn't trust him. He had a temper that he rarely showed but when he did, it was with amazing results.

Standing up, she bowed to the other man and excused herself. Watching the pink haired annoyance leave, Danzo sat back and eyed the way she walked. He knew that the bitch would be useful, but he wondered if he would be able to deal with her for the amount of time that he would need her for. Rubbing at his lips with one hand, he narrowed his eyes and started to make plans for when she proved to be more of an annoyance instead of an asset.

Chapter 19

Sitting back, Ibiki watched as his roommate and newest romantic interest, not that he would admit this to anyone, walked around their kitchen, putting things away. The large man had to say that it was cute, the way that the young man would clean and fuss things into just the right place. He wondered if Naruto wasn't slightly OCD about various things before shoving it from his mind.

Every ninja was OCD in some way, it was just what they were OCD about that were different.

Crossing one leg as he shifted his chair, Ibiki smirked as Naruto huffed and finished washing the last cup.

"I should be preparing for my clan meeting," the blond drawled, enjoying the way his companion raised an eyebrow and smirked at him.

"Should you?" Ibiki asked, tilting his chair back on two legs. "I'm certainly not holding you back from doing so."

"I seem to remember someone here taking me out on a picnic while I should have been working on my speech," Naruto drawled, giving the other man a long look. Ibiki just continued to smirk as he shrugged, hardly repentant about dragging the blond off for the day.

"Raidou was right, you need to be dragged off on occasion, otherwise you'll get sick in the long run," he said, shifting his chair to rest once more on four legs. "You're relaxed and you're ready for the meeting tomorrow," Ibiki stated, making Naruto nod in agreement.

"True. I think though, I'm going to go take a shower and get some sleep for tomorrow. Who is going to be my personal guard for while you're working downstairs?" he asked, drying his hands on a towel before hanging it on a hook. The bald man did a one shoulder shrug, watching his blond companion pull out the tea kettle. They had fallen into the habit of having tea before bed when they were up in the last few days, finding that it helped them relax.

"I don't know yet. I'm looking at several of my ANBU who wouldn't be that odd to see you with," Ibiki finally admitted, watching Naruto fill the kettle with water and place it onto the stove to heat.

Naruto thought for a few moments before musing aloud, "There's not many and you know it. Neji maybe could get away with it every so often because we do train together, but the same goes with Itachi and Kakashi when he's playing ANBU. Raidou and me don't really go out and about in public since we prefer movies and the such," shrugging as the kettle went off. Taking it off the stove, he reached up and pulled two mugs down from a cabinet, adding tea balls that they had started to keep ready for ease of making and enjoying their nightly tea.

Pouring the hot water over the two tea balls, Naruto's ears twitched at the sound of leather shifting, prompting him to look over his shoulder. Ibiki had stood and was shrugging out of his coat, hanging it on a hanger that hung from a coat rack.

"You really should move that," Naruto teased, getting a dry look as he removed the tea balls, laying them in the sink.

"You know why I keep it in here than in my front hall," the large man growled, making Naruto snicker softly and nod his head.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Naruto chirped, walking over and handing Ibiki his mug that held very lightly sweetened tea. Holding his own, he wrapped long fingered hands around the warmth and sighed happily, eyes closed as he breathed in the fragrant steam. Ibiki sat down at the table, just watching the young blond nearly melt as he continued to scent the tea. It was fascinating to watch the sweet male before him relax and become more human then most nins of the village.

It was rare to find the time to relax, to just forget about the blood on their hands, or to remember and mourn the loss of their humanity and the people that had fallen to the job. It was even rarer to find someone who could understand where they were coming from, what was going on in their heads. But when they found that time, and they found that person, they used it well.

Ibiki allowed himself to brood a bit or indulge in a book or two on techniques that would come in handy with his job. Occasionally he would create a new idea or jutsu, having several genjutsus under his belt for his interrogations.

Naruto though, he cleaned or drank tea. He trained most of his free time and the rest of the time, he went on missions to make sure he had money at any one time, an unfortunate side effect of his past. So when he had the rare time when he just couldn't do anything or had nothing to do, he tended to do things that were mindless. Ibiki had discovered that 3 days after Naruto had moved in with him.

The fox had scrubbed the entire house, bar Ibiki's bedroom, from top to bottom. He had actually found several things that the interrogator had thought lost in the attic. His house had been organized and sanitized in a way that surprised the man, the scents of his favored softly scented cleaners filling the air around him. It had only taken a day or two for the natural scents of him and his companion to replace it, but it was softer in scent instead of stale…old.

After he had cleaned and organized the entire house, Naruto had taken a hot shower and bath before coming down and making tea. Honey Vanilla tea to be precise, which had been a surprise to Ibiki. Naruto had just told him that the tea was soft in flavor and didn't keep him awake with caffeine since it was naturally decaffeinated.

Ibiki found he enjoyed the tea too, but instead of the honey that Naruto added, he added a bit of simple syrup that Naruto had introduced him to. It seemed as if many of his new addictions came back to the small blond.

"So, Naruto, do you want someone to be with you while you're in the meeting?" Ibiki asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence between them. Naruto shook his head, taking his own seat finally.

"No, I can't have anyone with me. There can't be weapons in the meeting either," he said, shrugging. "A jutsu was set up when the first clan heads came together to stop any fighting because back then, more then just the Hyuugas and Uchihas were fighting. Nearly every clan had a beef with each other about something or another," he explained, Ibiki nodding.

"I remember hearing about that. Something about how a lot of the clans came from feuding areas and that carried over after they were set up," Ibiki drawled, getting a smile and a nod.

"Yeah, so the first and second hokages set up the jutsu and laid out the rules. The clan council room has a strict no fighting and no weapons rule. Can't stop the debates, anger and sniping but any attacks within the floor of the same room are seen as traitorous," Naruto continued, sipping his tea once more. "As for a guard, only those who are part of the clans can enter. I should have Neji and Shikamaru at the least with me. More then likely Choji and Ino too if they can make it."

"At least you'll be surrounded by friends," Ibiki drawled, once more getting a smile and a nod. "Good. Then I won't have to hurt someone for daring to touch the one I'm courting."

"Courting? You…what?" Naruto squeaked as Ibiki stood up with a smirk on his face, moving into the kitchen to rinse out his cup and toss the tea leaves.

"Courting. I want to ask Tsunade-sama for her permission, but only if you don't mind," Ibiki drawled, enjoying the wide eyed look on Naruto's face.

"You really want to court me?" Naruto finally asked, looking shyly down at his cup. "No one has really wanted to court me before. Even after my clan status was discovered."

"I want to. I find myself drawn to you and a courtship is a good way to get to know you in a more romantic way instead of a regular friendship. Especially since we've had one for years already," Ibiki stated, getting a shy smile.

"I'd like that. I'll expect the scroll with Tsunade-baa-chan's signature on it soon, possibly with Iruka-kun's signature since he is like my older brother," Naruto said, rinsing his own cup. Kissing Ibiki's cheek, he bounced up the stairs, leaving the large man to whimper in slight fear.

"For a Chunin, Iruka-san is a scary, scary mother hen. Why me?" Ibiki sighed, finally shaking his head and making his own way up the stairs, flipping off lights behind him.

Chapter 20

Standing just outside of the council room, Ibiki sighed and rubbed at his head, feeling the scars and whorls that laid under the cloth over them. Taking a slow deep breath, he groaned and leaned against the wall behind him, arms and legs crossed as he glared at the door that mocked him.

Naruto had gone in just a scant 5 minutes ago and already he was twitchy. It was pathetic how paranoid he was about leaving the younger man alone, even knowing that he was a fully trained shinobi. He still didn't trust Sakura not to pull something stupid and try to attack while the clan heads met to finally discuss what was going on with the young blond. He just hoped that they didn't take insult to the fact that the small fox like male was wearing his hooded jacket, Hokage's permission or not.

Letting his head thunk against the wall, Ibiki extended his senses, finding several ANBU at their stations around the building and the grounds that the tower sat on. There were several Chunins running around in the lower levels while by the feel of her chakra, Tsunade was amused about something.

She was probably reading the courtship scroll that he had turned in earlier that afternoon, after facing down Iruka and getting his signature. After being threatened by castration by the dullest chakra scalpel he could create, the man had signed the scroll and told the man that he should expect to take Naruto out on quite a few dates.

He knew that fact already, wanting to prove his worth to Naruto, especially with the fact that he was a clan leader. Children weren't really a concern, seeing as the blond already had several surrogates lined up for when he was ready to have a child should he marry a male or when he was just ready to care for one. Ibiki himself had several surrogates lined up for when he was ready too.

So children were no worry but making the relationship strong and last was. Ibiki wondered if he would be able to do this without fucking it up completely. He was a strong man, a very dangerous man, with many rough edges and very few people got his very twisted humor. Even fewer got his job and just what he saw on a near daily basis.

Naruto understood, which still surprised most people when they first met him. He was smart, but he lived without someone there to push and prod him into learning and growing for so long that he had been unsure as how to act when he did get someone to do that for him. It was surprising at how close they were in terms to their interactions with new people, despite what they showed to said people.

Ibiki showed a sociopathic torture expert, with some people calling him a psychopathic man, while Naruto showed a bubbly idiot with a too sharp grin. But under that show they were watching the person they had just met, figuring out their weaknesses, their personalities and their strengths. They were figuring out the fastest way to take the person out if they needed to, like all good nins did but to a very odd extreme of things.

They were profilers of the highest caliber and they could see that in each other. Naruto was also one of the people to see his softer side, the more protective side. But the blond never told anyone about it, which just validated Ibiki's trust in the small blond.

Sighing, the scarred interrogation expert stood straight at the feeling of Choza Akimichi, one of the first clan heads that would soon be arriving. Standing straight, he nodded at the large man with a smirk dancing on his lips.

"Akimichi-san," Ibiki drawled, the man smiling in return.

"I don't suppose I'll get out of you what is going on will I?" he asked in good humor, getting a shake of a head. "Fine, tease us," he huffed before waving and walking into the council room, letting the door close behind him. Walking to one chair, he took his seat as Naruto played with several pages, hood drawn up and fingers on his other hand tapping on the table before him. "Calm down, Naruto-san. Nothing too bad will happen, especially with Tsunade-sama here and the jutsu in place," he said, his chair creaking.

Outside of the door, Itachi Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuuga were walking up. Hiashi was in a basic white kimono, the usual Hyuuga wear most of the time, brown hair pulled back and lean face set into a cool look as his pale lavender eyes glared before him. In contrast, Itachi was smirking smugly about something, red-black eyes flashing with his mirth and black hair pulled back into his usual pony tail.

"Stop teasing Hyuuga-san, Uchiha-san," Ibiki grumped, getting a low laugh as Itachi opened the door and stepped into the room, followed by Hiashi. The next to arrive was Shibi Aburame, looking much like an older version of his son with his rather thick hair, glasses that sat over his eyes and the coat that covered his body the usual with him. Soon following after him was Hana Inzuka in place of her mother, smirking at Ibiki as she and Shibi disappeared into the council meeting room.

Shikaku Nara, in all of his slouching, goatee, bored glory was followed by Asuma Sarutobi, who squashed the cigarette under Ibiki's glare as he muttered about already knowing what was going on. Inoichi Yamanaka just snickered and walked into the room, letting Asuma follow after, leaving Ibiki to shake his head and wonder when Tsunade would arrive.

She didn't take long before she too was walking past him, smiling and nodding as she hefted the large box in her hands, walking into the room. Ibiki had to wonder just how well the meeting would go in the long run. He had no doubt that Naruto would present all of the needed information to the council and then Tsunade would probably explain what was going on, including Sakura's escape from her cell with the help of someone on the inside.

Twitching, the large man snarled as his mind remembered just what they had and hadn't found when they had searched her cell. It was going to be a bitch to find her, just for the simple fact that there had been absolutely no chakra signature for them to follow, which meant it had been someone strong and very knowledgeable about chakra suppression. When he found them, Ibiki would show them just why you didn't piss him off and take one of his prisoners.

You just didn't.

Sighing softly, he looked around and frowned as an ANBU walked up to him with a piece of paper, handing it over. "Sir, we have a lead on her," the crow masked ANBU stated, getting a hard nod as Ibiki put the piece of paper away with a frown.

"Good. I'll see to it after the council meeting. Tell Deer and Parrot to meet me at my office," he stated, the ANBU nodding and disappearing without a sound.

Chapter 21

Everyone stared at everyone else, eyes occasionally shifting towards Naruto who just looked up from under his hood and smiled slightly as the clan heads settled in. Asuma was to his left, grumbling about being there, already knowing what was going on as it was while Tsunade was on his right, Itachi to her right, looking rather amused by it all.

"So, wanna tell us what's going on?" Inoichi asked, sitting back in his chair with a smile dancing on his lips, reminding Naruto of Ino quite a bit.

"Okay, so about 2 days before I called this meeting, Sakura went rogue on us," Naruto said, leaning his elbows on the table, fingers lacing together as he frowned lightly. "She asked me to help test a new way to unseal chakra points when they get stuck mid-transformation. What I didn't know what that the shot that she gave me wasn't supposed to be given. The reason why is because it made my chakra fluctuate while I was shifting between forms. From what I understand, Kyuubi activated the chakra that was mixed with mine by using the chakra that is being added to save my life and well…"

"The results are adorable," Tsunade finished for him, smirking at the scowl on Naruto's lips as he stood up and pulled the hood down. The group stared at the ears that twitched amongst the blond locks as he pulled the jacket off all the way, freeing his blond tail.

"Well, no wonder Neji just smirked at me this morning," Hiashi said finally, trying to keep his voice under control at the sight. Neji had been humming and smiling for the entire week since he had come over from Ibiki's home, making Hiashi wonder just what he had seen while there. From what was before him, he now knew that it was because of just how Naruto looked.

He had been on the track to being handsome with a softer look about him than his father, but now, he was downright androgynous. It was an amazing sight. And caused many of the men, married or not, to wonder if there was anything else about the sweet fox that had changed before they quickly squashed the idea.

"So…the chakra was used to save your life while your system went off, right?" Itachi asked, well used to seeing the blond with his appendages from his job guarding him.

"Yeah. The chakra that was pumping through my body was stopping and then rushing too fast for my coils to handle, than it would stop again. I don't remember much beyond that and from what I can remember it hurt a lot. Growing the ears and tail not so much," Naruto replied, sitting down again, looking down at his papers.

"Can you remove them?" Shibi asked curiously, getting a shake of Naruto's head as his answer. "Why not?"

"Because they're physical manifestations of my chakra and if I cut them off, they'll just grow back and I'll lose a bit of my chakra," Naruto explained. "I really don't want to lose any of my chakra because even losing a tiny bit would throw my entire system off for a while. As it is, I'm having to retrain myself with the added appendages," he continued, sitting back and crossing his legs.

"When I found out what she had done, I had ordered her to go visit Ibiki and she was placed in a cell," Tsunade started, looking down at her own notes before frowning heavily. "Somehow, someone got in to see her, knocking out several of our ANBU, who had been watching her and Anko-san too. We later found out that there had been seals placed on the walls and the ceiling that when activated let out a potent sleep agent. It was just strong enough to make the ANBU easily placed under a genjutsu that clouded their minds and hid the person's appearance from them.

"A few days ago, she was discovered gone from her cell. Apparently who ever wanted her, knew enough about the cells to get her out," she continued, looking up with a serious expression on her face. "Without leaving a trace of chakra, scent, hair, nothing. There was nothing in that cell that could tell us who was there and there was nothing in it to suggest that it once held my ex-student."

"Are you telling me someone from inside the village has turned traitor and is still operating within our walls?" Hiashi asked, eyebrows drawing low as a scowl formed on his face.

"Unfortunately, yes, that is what I'm telling you. Naruto may be in danger, along with Sasuke's fiancé and Sasuke himself. She's obsessed with Sasuke and if Kimi-san is seen as in her way, she may go after her and try to kill her. Itachi," Tsunade stated, turning to him with a dark look, "tell your brother that he's going to be working with me as my assistant at the hospital. He'll be assigned to where Kimi-san works, seeing as they're starting to be able to put files into a computer system. Due to that, she's one of the few working with the files and doing a lot of typing. Sasuke is going to do a lot of hefting, scanning and watching until we fix this."

"Yes, Hokage-same," Itachi said, nodding sharply as he sat straight and firm.

"Naruto will be watched over by an ANBU whenever he is not with me, Ibiki-san, Itachi-san or Sasuke-san," Tsunade told the council, giving each man a long look. "Tell your children to be on high alert but keep it quiet. There is no reason to cause panic if we can help it. Hopefully, we'll be able to figure this out and soon."

With a final "Yes, Hokage-sama" the council broke off, Hiashi, Hana and Shibi staying behind to talk with Naruto. The young blond was putting together his papers with a worried frown.

"Naruto-kun, where have you been staying since this happened?" Hana asked, poking gently at one ear with a delicate claw, watching the ear flick quickly before twisting towards her.

"Ibiki-kun's home actually. That place is so covered in traps, wards and warnings that it's nearly impossible to get through without using chakra if you don't want to end up in a lot of pain," Naruto admitted, smiling at her before nodding to the two clan heads. "Actually, he's planning on courting me, which was a surprise, let me tell you."

"Ibiki Morino? Courting you? I never would have thought I would see the day of that man courting someone, much less finding someone willing to accept the courtship," Hiashi drawled, getting a narrowed eyed look as he smiled softly. "I'm glad that he was finally able to find that in you. I do hope that things go well for you two in the long run and remember, if it does not work out, I do have two daughters that would be interesting in marrying you, if not several male family members," he said, getting a huff and a pout.

"I'm happy with my scarred interrogator, thank you, Hiashi-san. After all, he went to Iruka to get his approval for the courtship," Naruto sang before he smiled and waved at the three, leaving the room and smiling bright at Ibiki, who was looking a bit worried about something. "What's up?" Naruto asked, getting a soft smile.

"Let's go to my office," Ibiki hummed, drawing Naruto away. Shibi smirked and shook his head at his friends.

"Looks like the man is possessive," he mused, Hana smirking and nodding.

"Poor little Kiba is going to be so pouty when he finds out about this," she drawled before leaving with a happy, bouncy goodbye.

"And people wonder why I'm glad my wife isn't bouncy," Shibi snorted before he left, leaving Hiashi to his thoughts.

"I wonder if I should just go for a male lover myself. They seemed less bouncy and bright," he muttered, finally leaving the room with a shake of his head.

Chapter 22

Slipping into the hallway, Deer paused and scowled under his mask, finding that there was a very fine layer of dust, meaning that somewhere there was a window open, letting in the wind. Looking around, he kneeled down and looked at the floor, working his way up to make sure that the dust hadn't hidden anything within his sight range as his partner slipped in behind him.

"I don't think anyone has been here since just before that big storm that blew up the dust from the outer fields," Deer stated, getting a nod.

"Sounds about right," Parrot stated, slits in his eyes gazing over the hall himself. A muttered word and a shift of chakra alerted Deer that his friend was using his Byakugan before deactivating it. "We're alone. This base was abandoned no doubt and they've left no one here," Neji said as he lifted his mask, pulling up a face mask to filter out the dust around them.

"Great," Shikamaru muttered, standing straight and following the other man's example. "Let's get started," he said, Neji nodding and the two moving silently down the hall. Stopping at one door, they opened it to find an empty office, the drawers upturned and empty as they picked around the room. The desk was nearly a pile of splinters, making them wary about what or who could have done that.

Finishing with that room, the two headed for the next door that was down the hall, finding nothing in there. The next three rooms gave up nothing and they headed down another hallway. A single door stood on each side, the two sharing a long look. Deciding to check out the room on the left, they opened it and discovered a bedroom with a large bed that was ruffled, shards of a mirror that scattered on the floor and glimmered in the light from the window that was wide open, letting in light and dust.

"Well, looks like we found where some of the dust has come from," Shikamaru snorted, shaking his head with a frown of distaste as they moved further into the room. They started to methodically go over the room, Neji knocking on the walls as Shikamaru worked on going through the various drawers, checking under the mattress and in the actual mattress itself, finding nothing. Opening the closet, he frowned at the sight of torn up dresses that had been tossed about the area, shaking his head with a sigh. "We found where Sakura was being kept at least," he said, Neji looking from near the ceiling.

"So I see. Looks as if she had a hissy fit before they left," the older male said, shaking his head before knocking on a piece of wall that sounded hollow. "Found out where our link put the letter, at least I hope so," he told Shikamaru as he worked the compartment open, finding a thick sheath of papers. "Damn, looks like there's a lot of information he hadn't been able to get to us."

"Looks like it," Shikamaru said, frowning lightly at the sight. Sighing, he kicked at a drawer just inside the closet, hearing a thunk followed by a hard thud. "Damn, what was that?" he asked, opened the drawer to find that a piece of the top of the drawer had fallen down, exposing what looked to be a journal.

"And it seems as if you found the missing journal that was Sakura's," Neji snorted, dropping to the floor as he placed the pile of papers into a sealing scroll, Shikamaru doing the same with the journal after flipping through it.

"Of course, like all the others it's in code that we only have half figured out," the younger male muttered, sneering under his mask as he tucked away the scroll.

"Come on, my friend, one other room in this hallway and then I think one last hallway," Neji teased, eyes sparkling as he led the way out of the room. Going across the room, they opened the door, finding it cleaned of nearly everything that could be considered helpful. The large bed was bare of sheets, blankets and pillows, the dressers were cleared out with the drawers tossed about the room and the closet was empty except for hangers that swung back and forth in the breeze that came from the window that sat at the very back.

"Looks like even if they cleared out fast, they cleaned out completely," Shikamaru sighed, looking around before frowning. "You get everything else, check the dresser and the such and I'll check out the walls this time, see if there's anything," he said, moving to one wall, Neji nodded and moved towards the dresser. Both males smoothed and knocked against their respective items, trying to find out if there was anything there that was out of the ordinary.

Shikamaru found several compartments that were empty, telling him that they had been put there by whoever had slept there. He found the occasional scrap paper with dates and times of various meetings and the such but nothing too interesting. Sticking them into a sealing scroll, he continued hunting as Neji muttered and complained under his breath. The long haired male wasn't finding anything except furniture that was just that. Furniture, albeit cheap furniture, but furniture none the less.

"It looks like this person knew all the hiding places and cleaned them out," Neji stated, standing up after going over the bed. Brushing off his knees, he frowned and pulled out a small map that their touch stone had given them, noting that the next room was a computer room and that it to would probably be cleaned out. "Any luck with the walls?" he asked.

Shikamaru shook his head as he landed next to his companion, saying, "Nope. They cleared them out, probably knew about and did a full sweep before they left." Fixing his hair under his hia-te head cap, he eyed the map next to Neji and frowned unhappily.

"I hate computers," Neji grunted, Shikamaru nodding in agreement as they left the bedroom, heading for the last room on the list, which was just a door instead of a hallway. The two shared looks and used a small burst of chakra to dispel any gen-jutsus just in case. Opening the door and walking in, they both stared at the fact that there was just a single computer that looked old even to their untrained eyes.

"Wasn't that an original model back in the 4ths time?" Shikamaru asked, voice strained with his annoyance.

"Knowing our luck…they left it because it's deader then a damn door nail," Neji growled, the two sharing a look before Shikamaru pulled out a large scroll, unrolling it and laying it on the floor. Between the two of them, they placed the computer onto the scroll and activated the seal. Once it was sealed up, the younger of the two men picked up the scroll and tucked it away, the two leaving.

Soon they were standing in Ibiki's office, handing over the scrolls and promising to have a full report in a bit of time, Naruto out in the report office, once more taking them. Being dismissed, the two left to their own homes, wanting a shower and to write their reports in peace.

Chapter 23

Having gotten the signed scroll with permission to court Naruto, Ibiki had set up their first official date together and was about to take Naruto out for a night together. Smoothing his shirt down, the scarred male scowled lightly, not used to wearing anything that wasn't nin gear. Shaking his head, he put on a skull cap that was colored a dark red, to match the dark red shirt that Iruka had shoved at him. How the man had found anything in his still unorganized closet, Ibiki would never figure out.

Gazing into said closet, he wondered if Naruto would one day go in there, do battle with the things that had grown in there and organize it. He had no doubt that it would happen eventually seeing as how Naruto had fully cleaned and organized his attic.

Shaking his head with a frown, Ibiki took in the rest of his pants, finding that he didn't look too bad with the shoes made of something akin to what his ninja sandals were made of, even if they covered his whole foot. The simple black pants that he wore were loose enough for him to move around in if need be. All in all not a bad look all around.

Making sure that he had his money and various weapons well hidden, he left his bedroom and headed downstairs to wait for his date to leave. He could hear Iruka and Naruto laughing in the blond's room, moving around and doing things that Ibiki could only imagine. Finding the coat that he was being forced to wear, he pulled it on and looked up when he heard soft footsteps on the stairs.

Naruto was smiling at Iruka who was just behind him, the scarred man gazing at him with wide eyes. The blond was wearing a darker red shirt then his own, the color almost shifting between black and red. A pair of rather tight pants highlighted the lean legs, making Ibiki run his eyes over the long limbs in appreciation, wondering if he was pouting at the fact that the shirt covered Naruto's hips. Simple black boots covered his dates feet while his hair fell around his eyes artfully, for once not held back by his hiate.

"You look wonderful," Ibiki greeted, moving and taking Naruto's hand and flipping it over, kissing his wrist. Iruka smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Remember the rules of the courting, no sex until you're both ready and no sooner then the second date between you two," the chunin said, pulling on his own coat and opening the front door. "I expect to hear all about your date tomorrow, Naruto."

"Yes, Iruka-kun," Naruto hummed, watching as the older male left with a few bounces, leaving the land and the two. "So where are we going to eat dinner?" he asked, pulling on a black hooded jacket that Tsunade had given him for dates and other formal events. They were going to tell the village about his ears either the next day or the day after, but until then, he still had to hide his ears and that kept places he could go on the small side.

"Akimichi-san has offered a back booth to us for our date when I asked him," Ibiki explained, helping Naruto fix the hood. "I checked it out and it's perfectly hidden away from people. He himself will be coming to serve us and we're offered permanent reservations for his restaurant, even after the village has been told."

"He's so nice, much like his son," Naruto said happily, beaming as Ibiki lead him out of the house and towards the district where the nicer restaurants were located. They spoke of the meeting, Naruto pouting unhappily at the reminder that most of them had stared at him in surprise at how he had looked. "Shush. It's not my fault that I look the way I do," he huffed as Ibiki snickered lowly, nodding to Choza when he greeted them at the host stand.

"Come on you two, the booth is ready for your date," the large man said, laughing lowly when the interrogator wrapped his arm around Naruto's waist.

"I rather enjoy the way you look, Naruto," Ibiki soothed, pressing a kiss to his forehead when he thought no one was looking. Choza smiled at the blush on Naruto's cheeks at the gesture, surprised that his date wasn't adverse to displays of public affection. Sitting down, the two smiled as they were handed their menus, Naruto's brighter then Ibiki's smirking one.

The two opened their menus starting their conversation once more.

"So, everyone that needs to know does now," Ibiki mused, smiling as Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, they do. Next is the village but you know what Tsunade-baa-chan plans on doing in regards to them," he said, finally pulling his jacket off, laying it next to him.

"Yes, of course. So hopefully there won't be too many people who will start making a fuss over your new appendages. I would hate to have to work even more due to the idiots," Ibiki drawled, getting a snort of laughter from his date.

"Yeah, all those reports that would pile up on your desk," Naruto cooed, batting his eyes teasingly as the large man rolled his eyes and snorted.

"That's your fault I'll have you know. Not even my secretary can get that many ANBU to return their reports on time much less in such nice condition," Ibiki drawled, shaking his head with a smile. "So, having fun?" he asked as Choza walked up with a bright smile, a pot of tea and two cups of water on a tray.

"So far? It's rather nice," Naruto hummed happily, accepting his water and teacup from Choza.

"Are you two ready to order your appetizers?" the large man asked, getting nods. Writing down their orders from starting dish to last, he walked off to give them over to the chef, the two starting to talk once more.

"I was thinking we could go watch a fireworks display later on. Apparently there's a small carnival that came into town and is setting off fireworks to start off their time here," Ibiki offered, smiling as Naruto beamed in excitement.

"That sounds like so much fun," Naruto hummed happily, nearly bouncing in his seat. "Can we check out the carnival too by any chance? At least see what they have?" he asked.

"I was planning on that too," Ibiki admitted, getting a squeak of happiness as Naruto moved around the round booth and hugged the other around his waist, nuzzling the other's shoulder.

"Thank you, Ibiki," he said softly, smiling lowly at his boyfriend as he had taken to thinking of the man.

"You're welcome," Ibiki said, smiling and patting the soft hair and twitching ears as they waited for their first dish to arrive. Throughout the meal the two talked about various things, including how Naruto's training was going and how much they had found out in regards to his abilities with the new appendages.

After they had eaten, complimenting the food much to Choza's delight, the two left the restaurant, Naruto once more wearing his hood. Finding a good spot away from most of the crowd, they stood and waited for the fireworks to start, happy to just stay silent between each other. With a flash of light that spilled over the sky, the display started, making Naruto stare in obvious pleasure, having rarely seen a fireworks display so close.

"It's so lovely," he breathed out, eyes dancing brightly as Ibiki nodded in agreement, one arm wrapped around the other's waist as they watched. Once the firework display was done, the two headed home, still content to stay silent. Once they had arrived, Ibiki escorted a giggling Naruto all the way to his bedroom, making the large man roll his eyes and smile indulgently at him.

"Good night, Naruto-kun," Ibiki drawled, smoothing a thumb over Naruto's cheek, making him blush softly at the gesture.

"Thank you for the wonderful night, even though we didn't get to go to the carnival like we wanted to," Naruto said softly, getting a low laugh and a nod.

"Next date, little one, next date," Ibiki promised, getting a bright smile. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against Naruto's cheek before standing straight and winking at him. "For now, bed for the both of us. I don't want your Iruka-san to say that I wasn't following the rules," he teased, getting a low, husky laugh.

"That is true. Good night, Ibiki-kun," Naruto hummed, leaning upwards and brushing their lips together before winking and disappearing into his room. Ibiki sighed, smirking to himself and turned to his own bedroom. He had to do something about the sudden curl of arousal and his room had silencing wards just like all of the bedrooms.

Chapter 24

Staring at the group before her, Tsunade rested her arms on her desk before her, lips pulled into a frown. Ibiki was standing behind Naruto, one hand placed on the smaller male's shoulder as the blond sat between Sasuke and Shikamaru. The rest of his friends sat or stood, scattered about the room, all looking curious as to why they were there.

"I'm sure you all have better things to do then sit here and listen to me ramble about something or another, I'm sure," she drawled slowly, smirking as she tossed a pen at Kakashi's head, making him drop his Icha Icha and pout under his mask. "As long as you guys pay attention and hold your questions to the end, I'll happily answer them after I go over the information," Tsunade continued, leaning forward with a smile.

"So, what did you guys find out?" Naruto asked, looking up at Ibiki with a curious look. The man just smirked and tugged on a bit of blond hair.

"She has the full reports from the ANBU, so pay attention," Ibiki stated, smoothing down the bit of hair when Naruto pouted up at him.

"Fine. Tsunade?" Naruto asked, turning back to her with curiosity shining in his eyes. Everyone else shifted and looked at her with their own looks, all wanting to find out the truth behind the web that was Sakura's lies.

"Alright, so, she didn't exactly lie about what she was researching," the Hokage started, placing the file with all of the information down before her. Everyone was surprised at how thick it was, Ibiki and Naruto knowing that most of it was notes from the ANBU that had gone over the notes, research and diaries that Sakura had kept. "She was trying to figure out how to unseal stuck or closed chakra points and she had found out about that."

"So you've stated before," Shikamaru drawled, remembering some of the conversations that everyone had had.

"Shut up, Shikamaru," Tsunade stated before continuing on. "Anyway, when she asked Naruto to help her, what she did was close off one of his chakra points and injected him with a serum, that has been banned from ever being used again on a fellow nin. What the serum did was create fluxes in his chakra coils that in turn created fluxes in his chakra flow, which disrupted his ability to use the right amount to do what was being asked of him.

"Due to these fluxes, his organs and body were in danger of being destroyed. What we didn't know was that every time Naruto used the Kyuubi's chakra, the fox added a little more to Naruto's own stores of power, boosting them and purifying his own power. About a tails worth of power, I would estimate," she stated, smiling lightly at the young blond who was staring at his tail with a thoughtful look on his face.

"So, the tail is…?" Naruto asked slowly, looking up from the appendage.

"The tail is the Kyuubi's way of keeping the both of you alive. It's quite literally a manifestation of the power that he gave over to you and that you purified with your own chakra. It was either do that, or you both died, from what I gathered from your exams," Tsunade said, smirking and shrugging her shoulder. "Sakura wasn't expecting the Kyuubi to have such a strong survival instinct after so long as a trapped being, but he does apparently."

"I haven't been able to talk with him lately. All I get are snores when I contact him," Naruto admitted, shrugging. "I think that took a lot out of him. The last time we over extended his power, he slept for nearly three weeks."

"So you can talk with the Kyuubi, huh?" Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes as Neji reached over and smacked his arm without looking away from Naruto.

"What our dear Shikamaru is trying to say is that we all kind of figured that you could speak with the fox considering you can use its power," Neji said, glaring at his partner. Shikamaru just smirked and shrugged one shoulder as he leant back against his spot on the wall again.

"Speak for yourself. Though, I always figured there was something odd about the way I would find you spaced out sometimes," Kiba said, dragging a clawed hand through his hair, Naruto eyeing them.

"One thing that I am glad about is the fact that I don't have to worry about the claws. I don't think I could take it," the blond stated, shaking his head as Kiba gave him an affronted look.

"What's wrong with having claws?" he asked, huffing as Naruto gave him a sweet smile.

"Yeah, but then you have to be careful around delicate bits don't you?" he asked, Ino and Hinata bursting into laughter as the Inuzuka blushed a bright red.

"Shut up, foxy," Kiba huffed, pouting as he scratched behind Akumaru's ears, getting a happy huff from the large dog.

"To move on, once Sakura is caught again, she has a new charge against her," Tsunade stated, leaning back in her chair, smiling at the group.

"And that would be?" Iruka asked as he continued to take notes on the meeting, looking at the Hokage only occasionally.

"Right now, she has one count of attack with intent to harm, one count of experimenting without permission, several counts, and still growing, of stealing and mishandling paperwork and now…" she trailed off, smirking softly. "Now she has one count of terrorism against the Hidden Leaf and one count of attempted murder against one of our own."

"Damn…" Neji breathed, everyone staring at her.

"So what are your orders in regards to her?" Sai asked curiously. He knew what Danzo was capable of, had given all of his known information about him to Tsunade for that matter. So he wondered how she was going to handle it.

"If you can, take her down but be very careful," Tsunade stated, eyes dark. "If she's with Danzo, be extremely careful. That man has been a pain in my ass since day one and he's very slick with the way he works. Sometimes, I think he makes Orochimaru look like a damn pussy cat," she griped. Naruto snickered softly and smiled at her with a sparkle in his eye.

"So pretty much if you see her, take her down alive. If you see her with Danzo be careful and take both of them down?" Ibiki asked, smoothing a hand through Naruto's hair in an attempt to get him to stop baiting Tsunade for the moment.

"That's right. Now, I think that's everything that we need to cover. Get lost, the lot of you," she said, pulling out a bottle of sake. Everyone left the room, knowing that she was going to get drunk, or as drunk as she could get without losing herself.

They had a lot to think about and a lot of preparation to start on.

Chapter 25

"I still say that she's a sociopathic, narcissistic bitch," Itachi snorted, shifting on his couch, laying out on it with a casual grace. Naruto sat in one arm chair while Sasuke sat on a floor cushion with a pile of papers next to him.

It had been three weeks since Naurto had ended up with his ears, nearly two since Sakura had escaped and Naruto and Ibiki had started to date. During that time, Sasuke had taken his place in working in the medical archives, the wedding invitations had been sent off and Itachi had been found out as one of the blond's ANBU guards. Neji and Shikamaru had also found another base, this one even older than the first base and not as well cleaned out.

Some of the information, distorted as it had been, had been rather informational as to what Danzo had been up to, especially since they now had the man's name. They had also found more information on the Uchiha massacre and how Orochimaru had gotten away with doing it amongst a village full of elite and paranoid nins.

"I'm not denying that, but I'm not going to let her run my life so much, especially with me being courted by Ibiki," Naruto snorted, an ear flicking in the man's direction. I'm also going to enjoy my life, especially since Tsunade-baa-chan told the village yesterday about what had happened."

"The Harunos came up to him and asked for his forgiveness for their daughters' idiocy afterwards," Sasuke drawled, putting aside the paper in his hands. "How the hell do you get two rather good looking people like the Harunos, both of who are stable and rather nice, and get a daughter like Sakura?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Could be she's a throwback in her family. Either that or all the fangirling rotted her brain so completely that she became ugly," Itachi mused as he watched his younger brother curse over the papers. "Father was a throwback. He kinda reminded me of our great times six grandfather actually. From what I read of the man's journals, he and father shared the same thought process."

"Oh goody, our father was a single minded, prejudice jackass," Sasuke snorted as he picked up the next pile of papers. "We knew this, so no worries."

"You're both nuts," Naruto snorted as he picked up a pen and grabbed his notebook to continue writing out any information he remembered from over the years. At the request of Ibiki, he had started to write down every hit, insult and snide remark thrown at him by Sakura.

He was still working on the first 3 months before their first big mission, nearly a week after he had started.

"You knew this when you kicked Sasuke's ass over listening to the old council," Itachi drawled, finally deciding to pick up his book, it seemingly more interesting then his brother cursing over paperwork.

"Tell me again why everyone believed that you would betray the village, Itachi-san?" Naruto asked teasingly.

"Because they were quite like sheep before," came the dry reply. "Why Sasuke agreed to become Orochimaru's ass boy, I will never know."

"That's easy, Itachi. I had an ego the size of Fire Country and they used that against me," Sasuke said, distracted by the papers in his hands as Naruto jotted something down. "The seal also really fucked with my will power and ability to think straight."

"It's true. After the snaky one bit him, he became even more of a jackass," Naruto hummed, getting dual snorts from the brothers. "Why did I promise Sakura that I would drag your ass back? Oh yea, because the Third asked me to keep an eye on you because Kakashi was unknowing and blind, and Sakura was a fan-girl in Genin form," He said, voice sarcastic as Sasuke rolled his eyes and Itachi smirked as he flipped the page in his book.

"Shove it, Naruto," Saskue said, the three falling into a comfortable silence between them. Only the sound of paper rustling filled the silence along with an occasional hum of thought. "So, how's the courting going between you and Ibiki-san?" Sasuke asked as he finally stood and stretched.

"It's going well. We've had one date but the last few days have been busy for both of us," Naruto admitted, smiling lightly to himself. "He's been catching up on paperwork and working on the information they had found in the places. On the other hand, I've been working on this memory collection, training and doing as many mini missions as I can until I'm cleared to work the academy."

"Why can't you take missions outside of the village? Don't you usually have a group with you?" Itachi asked. He wondered if Ibiki had told him about that situation before deciding he hadn't.

"Tsundae-baa-chan decided that it would be better if I stayed within the village so it's easier for my guards to watch over me," Naruto replied, jotting down a new date and insult.

"Ah, I see. It would be hard, even for an ANBU, to follow you around when you're trying to be sneaky," Itachi mused, tossing his book aside as Sasuke walked out of the living room. "So, who's your guard today?"

"For now, you and Sasuke. I'm to stay put until either Ibiki or Sparrow and Wolf pop up," Naruto stated. Itachi hummed, extending his senses, finding nothing unusual on the grounds. There wasn't much outside of a few birds, a passing ANBU with the suppressed chakra of a chipmunk, and of course, an actual chipmunk that felt rather pissed about something. Itachi smirked as he moved his arm to rest under his head. "Something funny?" the blond asked in curiosity.

"Pissed off chipmunk," came the snorted reply. Naruto looked up with surprised eyes, blinking a few times before he started to laugh. Sasuke chose that moment to walk back in, plate of sandwiches in hand and looked at his laughing friend.

"Do I want to know?" he asked dryly, giving his brother a long look. Itachi just smiled and crossed his legs, looking more and more like a lounging cat.

"Just told him about the pissed off chipmunk," Itachi hummed, sending Naruto into a new fit of laughter.

"That chipmunk is always pissed off about something or another," Sasuke replied, placing the sandwich plate down on the table before opening a window. A messenger bird swept in and landed next to the still giggling Naruto, ruffling its feathers slightly.

"Looks like a message from Ibiki," the blond finally got out as he pulled off the small roll of paper, running a hand down the bird's back. "He's not going to be able to make dinner tonight. He has a new guest," Naruto read, tearing off a piece of paper out of his notebook and scrawling a reply. Once his reply was tucked away in the small pouch, the bird clacked her beak before taking off.

"So you're alone tonight?" Sasuke asked, handing out sandwiches to the other two.

"At least until Ibiki gets back, most definitely for dinner. It's all good though," Naruto promised with a smile.

"How so?" Itachi asked, taking a bite out of his food.

"I get to catch up on my reading without some huge man who makes me think naughty thoughts distracting me," Naruto purred, getting choked laughter from the two brothers.

Chapter 26

"So, you're the one that's gonna watch over me, huh?" Naruto asked in curiosity, tapping his pen on his notebook as Neji stared back at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Is there a problem with that?" Neji asked, voice drawling as he crossed his legs, foot bouncing. Blue eyes rolled as Naruto wrote something down onto his notebook once more.

"No, just curious. I know that Ibiki is with a new guest of his but I don't know what Itachi-kun is up to," Naruto replied, continuing to write easily as he talked with his friend. Neji just watched closely, enjoying the careless grace of his friend, always amazed at how easy the blond could move.

"I believe that Itachi-sempai is on a mission," Neji mused, drawing Naruto's gaze up from his papers, an eyebrow raising upwards in curiosity. "He was in full mission gear when I saw him before he left. I believe it was a lead on some of that one guy's contacts that are running around."

"I see," Naruto hummed, looking out over the land through the window of his living area of his suite. "Why do you call Itachi-kun sempai?" He asked in curiosity, tilting his head to the side. That startled a laugh from Neji, his eyes wide as he looked to Naruto.

"Why? Mostly as a sign of respect, but also because he did take over part of my training when he rejoined the ANBU," he explained.

"I see," Naruto hummed, putting his notebook aside. Closing his eyes, he sighed before stretching his limbs. "You know what's odd? I miss Ibiki so very much and I know that he's in the village and that I'll see him later tonight but still I miss him."

"I know how you feel. It's love…" Neji trailed off, looking at his friend who had gone stock still in the process of pulling his legs up onto his chair. "Are you in love with Ibiki-san?" he asked, blue eyes turning to him.

"I really have no idea," Naruto breathed out, shrugging as he ran a hand through his hair before jumping up from his seat.

"Well, from what I'm seeing, you're at the least on the path to full out loving Ibiki-san" Neji mused, watching his friend pace back and forth. "Calm down. It's not a bad thing to fall in love with him."

"I know it's not but still…" Naruto said, sighing and flopping back onto his seat. "What if he doesn't love me back? I mean seriously? I'm not that much to look at, much less experienced with relationships." Neji gazed at him with an incredulous look on his face before he shook his head.

"You're an idiot sometimes, Naruto," Neji sighed, leaning his head on one hand. "You're gorgeous, even more so since the psycho one did what she did to you. You could go head to head with any good looking male or female and have a good chance of at least tying with them in a looks contest," he said, waving his other hand. "Not only that, but you're still sweet, still innocent even after all of the blood you've split over the year. On top of that, Ibiki-san is courting you isn't he?"

"Yeah," Naruto sighed, looking up through his lashes.

"So, that means he has some form of feelings for you. So don't doubt him and his feelings for you. I have no doubt that if he didn't love you, he wouldn't have started to court you," Neji stated, getting a shy smile from his friend.

"Alright, alright. If anything, I can talk with him soon and find out his feelings that way," Naruto hummed before smirking at his friend. "What about you and your two lovers? Are Iruka-kun and Kakashi-sensei treating you well?" he asked, watching as his normally pale friend blushed an interesting shade of red.

"My relationship is going well. They treat me amazingly well and don't expect anything but my happiness," Neji said as his blush finally calmed down.

"Ah, so they don't expect you to be Mr. Housewife, huh?" Naruto teased, tossing a pillow at him with a smug look his face. Neji huffed and tossed the pillow back as he rolled his eyes.

"No, I do that because I like to and I'm used to it now. Even when I lived at the clan compound, I cleaned and cooked for myself. I rarely trusted another to do it for me and now it's something I enjoy doing," the older male explained with a soft smile on his lips. "I especially like it when they're so happy to see it all clean and done after a long day or a long mission. It makes me feel warm."

"A kind of warmth that spreads through your body, warming you up in a special kind of way," Naruto sighed, the two sharing a knowing look between them. "Yeah, I know how you feel. After Ibiki got used to me randomly cleaning his house, he would always smile at me when he saw that I had cleaned on him. I have discovered that he prefers Nino's detergent to the regular nin detergent that you find more often. Leaves less of a scent," the blond shared.

"Iruka does the laundry in our house, calls it soothing, but Kakashi is the same way," Neji hummed. "With his detergent preferences that is."

"I've discovered that I have to agree with them on the choice, especially since there are a few all natural. I'm allergic to the green colored brand of it as I've discovered," Naruto hummed, shrugging one shoulder.

"Same with Kakashi and Kiba I believe. All of the Inuzukas actually," Neji shared, eyes narrowing at the window as he activated his Byakgan just as the chakra signature that he had felt disappeared. "Apparently anyone with heightened senses are allergic to them."

"Yeah. So you felt them to? Itachi and I weren't quite sure that there was someone following me around," Naruto hummed, frowning heavily as he pulled a smaller notebook closer, writing a new time and a note down on it.

"And you couldn't tell me so I couldn't be tainted to feel something when I didn't," Neji concluded, Naruto nodding his head.

"They never stay all that long, or at least long enough with a chakra signature before they leave really fast," the blond stated, handing over the notebook to show Neji the sightings and how long they had stayed once discovered.

"So, are they here to watch you? Or are they just here to stalk you?" Neji asked, looking out of the window with a frown.

"That's the question. Itachi couldn't find anything over the last area and Kiba couldn't catch any scent from there," Naruto hummed.

"They're good," Neji mused, Naruto nodding his head with a thoughtful look on his face. "Very, very good. Let's go cook something for now. At least we'll be closer to that one room."

"Yeah, sounds good to me," Naruto drawled, the two heading downstairs.

Chapter 27

Smiling as they walked around the village, Naruto laughed lowly as Ibiki drew him towards a bookstore, his ears flicking at the jingle of the bell. He had wanted to wear his hoody, but his companion had stopped him from doing so. And so far, things had gone well; no one sneering or laughing at him. They had stared, granted, but the stares hadn't been rude or angry, but a mix of curious and happy for him.

Ibiki had told him on the way out that everyone had been told to let Naruto go about his business and not to mob him, and they were keeping to that request. So far, they had gone to one of Naruto's favorite food stalls and bought food for Ibiki to make dinner with, kept in a scroll with a freshness seal. After that, they had dropped by a tea shop that had opened a few months ago but had quickly become popular with its selection of teas.

The blond had shared some of his favorite blends with his scarred boyfriend.

Now they were walking into a bookstore, Ibiki intent on buying Naruto the promised books on interrogation and interrogation techniques along with a few books on genjutsus. The blond pulled his companion to the section they wanted and the two settled in to go over the books, finding their conversation drifting.

"Have you felt our watcher again? I haven't, not since the day with Neji as my guard," Naruto said, ripping open a book before looking up at Ibiki with a curious look.

"A couple of times, just a flicker late at night," Ibiki admitted, reaching up and drawing a book down as Naruto added his to the small collection that they had started up.

"Why do you think he's having someone watch us?" Naruto asked, eyes scanning over titles as he ran one finger down the spikes. Ibiki knew exactly who the smaller male was talking about, having been the one to put down the rule of not saying Danzo's name out in public and only in private with a silencing jutsu around the area. They also didn't say Orochimaru's name due to rumors that the man may not be as dead as they had originally thought.

When Sasuke had heard that one he had laughed himself sick much to his fiance's amusement.

Still, it gave them a good cover in the long run, especially since they didn't want to tip their hand. Only those who were already in the know were kept updated on what was happening.

"I have no clue. He is either waiting for the right time to make their move or he wants to keep track of you and what you're doing," Ibiki mused. "Which isn't a whole lot all things considered."

"Shut up," Naruto huffed, pouting at the larger man before rolling his eyes. "Though I have a feeling that Sakura is getting very itchy about not doing anything, at least the one I knew would have been. Who knows how much she's changed in the last few weeks, how much her mental state has degraded," he said, tone serious, worried. Iibki ran a hand up and down his companion's back, offering his own comfort.

"I can't help but hope that they will make their move and soon," Ibiki muttered, making Naruto's lips twitch and him shake his head.

"You and me both," Naruto replied, smirking at his companion as they collected their chosen books and moved to the rather small selection of books on genjutsu. "Gods, this is even more pathetic then the library's collection," he groused, Ibiki nodding his head in agreement.

"We might have to special order to get anything," the bald male said, the two looking over the small collection that was offered, finally settling on two.

"Why do I feel Sparrow nearby?" Naruto suddenly asked as they moved to the counter.

"I have no idea, but I highly doubt that it's a good thing," Ibiki replied, the cashier looking outside nervously as they placed their books down. "What did you see?" the large man asked, staring down at the young brunette.

"I'm not sure but I could have sworn that I saw that Haruno chick," she replied, taking the money for the books after a quick ring up. "I saw a flash of pink running across the roof top over there while I was putting up the new display," she said, the words spurning Naruto into gathering the books quickly and placing them onto a sealing scroll. With a few hand signs, a bit of chakra and a puff of smoke, they were sealed and Naruto was placing the scroll away into one of his many pockets.

"Call your neighbors, put them on alert courtesy of the ANBU department. Spread the word but keep working," Ibiki said, looking out of the window with a scowl on his face. "Make sure you have all forms of ID and all pertinent information within easy reach and your escape routes are clear.

"Yes, Morino-san," the clerk replied, grabbing her phone and starting to dial as the two shinobi slipped out. Looking around, they walked down the road a bit before slipping into an alleyway, Sparrow and Wolf landing near them, both kneeling.

"Was Sakura spotted?" Naruto asked, a sliver of worry escaping from his tight control. Sparrow stood, nodding his head, tension oozing off the two ANBU. "Damnit."

"You can say that again," Wolf snorted, getting a lip twitch from Naruto.

"Would have thought you would have a dog mask there," the blond drawled.

"It's taken, so shove it," Wolf growled, Ibiki clearing his throat before the two could really get into it.

"Save it for later. Sparrow, tell me about the sighting. What happened?" Ibiki asked, easily sliding into his role as the head of the ANBU corps.

"No less then 10 minutes ago and no more then 30 minutes have passed since the first confirmed sighting of one Sakura Haruno by Jackel and Lemour, both of who were doing a sweep by the area of your home and land," Sparrow said, voice taut as his body tensed. "They sent their summons to us with the information as they gave chase. They lost her near the slums about four blocks away from Naruto-kun's old apartment building."

"So for the moment, she's looking for him," Ibiki stated, dual nods his answer. "Go look for her. Remember, do not take Danzo or her on alone, and don't forget, whatever you do, that they are slippery."

"Yes, sir!" the two snapped before disappearing. As Naruto and Ibiki stepped out of the alley, an explosion shook the ground under their feet as civilians started to run away, running towards various shelters. As they moved to bound upwards, heading for the roofs, words hit their ears, floating on a voice filled with anger and broken sanity.

"Come out, come out KYUUBI BRAT! TIME TO DIE!"

It looked as if Sakura and Danzo had made their move and with a rather large and explosive entrance.

"No finesse, " Naruto drawled as the headed to where they could see a very familiar pink haired female standing, waiting for them.

Chapter 28

Giving his companion a look, Ibiki snarled and pulled out a scroll as Naruto did the same. With a puff of smoke, they had their weapons out, quickly hiding them away on their bodies.

"Come on, let's go deal with psycho bitch and see if the information is right," he said, Naruto nodding as he watched Asuma and Shikamaru bound past them on the roofs over them.

"Looks like everyone is coming," Naruto said as he secured his kunai pouch onto his leg.

"Yeah. Be careful, Naruto. This is your first real battle since you gained your extra appendages," Ibiki stated, pulling on his battle jacket with a swish of leather.

"Have you ever sparred with the Uchihas? It's almost like a mini battle every fucking time," Naruto teased, Ibiki chuckling. "But I will be careful, and stay near someone at all times, just in case."

"Thank you," Ibiki hummed, smiling lightly as he stroked Naruto's cheek, pressing a quick kiss to his companion's lips.

"You stay safe too," Naruto stated, the two bounding off to the fight soon after. They made sure to dodge attacks and pockets of smoke, heading for their targets that were watching and waiting for them. Ibiki headed for a blank masked ROOT nin as Naruto moved after Sakura, stopping for a moment here and there to help a fellow nin if they needed it. A man that he knew well was standing next to her, eyes gazing around, smirking as he watched Sakura toss exploding tags attached to kunai and the occasional regular kunais as people dodged and fought around them.

"Ah, there you are," Sakura snarled, her lips pulled into a sneer. Naruto snorted as he landed on the roof near her, ears and tail vibrating, catching the sounds and air vibrations around him.

"Sakura. I'm surprised that you and Danzo came out so soon," he growled, pulling out a kunai and glaring at her. "I thought you would have stayed in your hole in the ground and out of sight."

"Now why would I do that? I have so very much to do, demon," Sakura drawled, eyes glowing with her anger. Naruto raised an eyebrow and smirked as he shook his head.

"You are an idiot really," he sighed before dodging out of the way of her attack. Sakura snarled as she looked up from the damaged roof that had been where Naruto had been standing. She yelped as a kunai flew past her ear, taking off a lock of pink hair.

"You bastard!" she screeched as Naruto stuck out his tongue. Ibiki flickered before Danzo, the crack of skin on skin loud as Danzo flew from his spot, blood flying from his mouth.

"I believe that Naruto's parents had been married at the time of his birth," he drawled as Danzo picked himself up from where he had landed, brushing off the dirt from his clothes.

"So, you know who his family is, then?" Danzo asked, lips pulling into a smug smirk.

"If you don't know, you won't hear it from us," Ibiki stated, dodging several thrown kunai, the two disappearing into the fight, the sound of cracks and slams loud in Naruto's ears.

"I will kill you!" Sakura screeched, drawing Naruto's eyes back to her once more. He raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head in annoyance.

"Sakura, if Itachi and Sasuke couldn't kill me, especially since they are even more powerful then you, I highly doubt that you'll be able to do so," he taunted. The screech that came from her for that insult made Naruto's ears flatten, making him snarl at the pain as she attacked him again, trying to land a hit.

Using a kunai that he slipped out of his pouch, he slashed at her, landing a small hit and opening a cut on her arm. The two continued to exchange blows and insults, cuts opening and bruises forming with each landed hit. The other fighters moved out of the way as several Narutos popped up at random times to help in the attack against Sakura, wearing her down slowly. Landing a harsh kick to her stomach finally, he moved to take her down, yelping in surprised pain as a flash tag was set off near him.

Rubbing at his eyes, whimpering, Naruto finally opened them up, finding that his vision was clearing quickly. Looking around, he snarled at not finding Sakura, spotting her and Danzo disappearing into the smoke, medic nins finally appearing along with several ANBUs to take custody of the downed ROOT nins.

"Naruto-san? Are you alright? Any open wounds?" one medic nin asked him, taking a quick look over his body, finding mostly healed wounds and bruises that were coming up.

"I'm fine. Find the others who need your help," he replied, bounding off to help with the clean up process. Taking down a few ROOT nins that were trying to get away and tying them up for the ANBU that were running around. He found Shikamaru quickly, the man laying on the ground, his eyebrow twitching and a low growl escaping him. "So?" Naruto asked, his friend glaring up at him.

"The asshole broke my fucking leg, after using me as a ball and tossing my around," the shadow user growled, eyes glowing in displeasure.

"Medic! Shikamaru needs to go to the hospital! He has a bruised body and broken leg," Naruto called out, a medic nin appearing next to them.

"Take this please, Nara-san, so we can move you," the nin said, giving Shikamaru a pain pill. He happily took it before flopping back onto the ground as it started to work.

"I saw Kakashi muttering over a cut on his leg, along with Kiba howling about his claws," Shikamaru told Naruto, the younger of the two giving him a smile and bounding off towards where his friend had pointed. He started to snicker when he found Kakashi with a medic, the white clad woman stitching the wound on his leg as she told him to take care of his chakra exhaustion.

"Use your Sharingan to much, didn't you?" Naruto asked teasingly, smirking at his old sensei.

"I can still kick your ass, you smug pain in my ass," Kakashi drawled, getting a bark of laughter from the medic nin.

"Not with this wound, or your exhaustion, Hatake-san," the nin stated as she turned her attention to Kiba, who was staring at his claws. "They weren't cut to the quick, which is good. Have your mother reshape them and watch what you do while they regrow."

"Yes, ma'am," Kiba sighed, flexing his fingers and smiling in a pained way. "Choji is being checked on with Neji. They're both bruised and battered, but okay. I saw Ibiki near them to, Naruto. He looked like he had broken his ribs and has a few new cuts," he told his friend, Naruto patting his shoulder.

"Thanks, Kiba. I'll talk with you later, yeah?" Naruto asked, Kiba nodding his head with a smile. Akumaru padded up to them, shaking off the dirt off of his white fur.

"Have fun," Kiba drawled as Naruto headed off. He found Neji and Choji together, both of them heading to the hospital and medics sending notes to Iruka and Choji's parents. Ibiki was growling and trying to get up despite the medic nins best efforts to keep him on the stretcher.

"Ibiki, would you let the medics do their jobs?" Naruto growled, stomping over to them. "Let them heal you and then send a bird to the ANBU so we know what's going on. I'll play your secretary and pack things up if you're stuck in the hospital, have Sparrow bring it to you," he soothed, Ibiki finally huffing lowly sitting back.

"Make sure that the prisoners are held well, and that no one can get out this time," Ibiki growled, Naruto nodding.

"I'll tell Itach to do that since he has some actual pull," Naruto promised, leaning over to press a kiss to the other's lips. "Now, let the nice medic nins do their jobs."

"I owe you a better date when I get out," Ibiki promised, Naruto smiling and nodding.

"Take care. I have a lot to do before I can rest," he said. Once the medics had taken Ibiki to the hospital, Naruto found Itachi and Sparrow, telling them the plan on what was to happen before they split apart. Once he did the needed rounds that all capable nins were to do, he checked in with Tsunade, giving his verbal report before heading to Ibiki's office. Getting his boyfriend's note that he was staying in the hospital, he packed everything that Ibiki would need, put up the sign telling the ANBU where he was and sent off the scrolls with Sparrow.

Writing out his own report, he finally went home. Dragging himself up the stairs, Naruto stripped out of his clothes and stepped under a rain of hot water, washing away the scent of smoke, blood and anger off of his skin.

Chapter 29

Signing the guest sheet, Naruto smiled lightly at the nurse, heading back to where he knew that Neji was resting. He could still remember the rush to patch everyone up after Sakura and Danzo's attack. The two had escaped but had left several injured and a few of their own ROOT nins to be captured by the ANBU. They were waiting for Ibiki to actually heal enough to interrogate them since Inochi was still confined to his own bed and Anko would have killed them before they got any information that they needed.

Naruto sighed as he stood outside of Neji's room, Hinata smiling sweetly as she left. He watched as she walked to Choji's room, shaking his head.

"Naruto-kun, come on in," Iruka said, watching as his old student yelped. "We could feel you coming. Neji wants to see you."

"Ah, right, sorry," Naruto said, looking sheepish as he stepped in, smiling gently as Kakashi helped Neji sit up in bed. "Hey there. How are your ribs?" he asked, patting at his pockets before finding a small scroll and pulling it out. "Books, some cross word books and anagram books too."

"I love you, Naruto, I really do," Neji sighed as Iruka took the scroll and unrolled it, several small piles of books appearing on the floor. "Oh, I really love you."

"This should amuse him for a week or so," Iruka drawled, making Naruto chuckle.

"Just enough time for him to be discharged to stay at home," Kakashi chirped as Neji took a pen and crossword puzzle book.

"Still no sex until my ribs heal more," Neji stated, making Kakashi pout at Iruka.

"He can't bend in his usual ways and you know it," Iruka scolded before sighing. "So sex will be limited to hand and blow jobs with him."

"I plan on playing voyeur," Neji hummed, already completely engrossed in his book, occasionally jotting a word down.

"I really do not want to know what you do behind closed doors," Naruto grumped, Iruka chuckling and smoothing a bit of blond hair down.

"Are you going to be seeing the others?" Iruka asked, Naruto smiling and nodding his head as he pulled out three other scrolls, waving them.

"I'm seeing Choji next. After him, I'm checking on Shikamaru to give him his groceries that he got me to pick up since he's not getting out tonight. Ibiki is last since he's gonna be here for the full three weeks while he's healing, so I need to get a few things signed," he replied, blushing.

"Things?" Kakashi asked, eyes sparkling.

"It's time to renew his automatic paying for various bills, such as electricity and he needs to pay the last of the bill for the solar panels," Naruto drawled, tucking the scrolls away. "On top of that, paperwork is being sealed into scrolls so he can do that to."

"So cruel to him," Neji said, smiling as Naruto gently hugged him and said their goodbyes, heading for Choji's room. Knocking on the door, he was waved in, the man within smiling brightly.

"Naruto! Good to see you," Choji greeted, his usual voice tempered by his wounds.

"You sound better," Naruto said, sitting down next to his bed, pulling out a slightly longer scroll then the others. "I got permission to bring a few things. Just apply a bit of chakra to the individual seal and you'll get a treat."

"Thanks, man," Choji groaned, Naruto's lips twitching slightly.

"It's not a problem," Naruto replied, waving a hand. Choji smiled and unraveled the scroll a bit, unsealing the first seal and smiling even brighter at the sight of a very familiar bento.

"You got my mom to cook for me, yeah?" Choji asked as he picked up the bento, opening it up and snapping the chopsticks.

"Yeah. She put like 6 of those in there, all healthy and useful to help your chakra and body heal," Naruto said. "Your nurse said that you'll get out next week, on Monday, but you're gonna be staying with your mom for a few days since Shika can't help you and he's gonna be stuck here for the full healing time, like Ibiki," he drawled. Choji chuckled around the bite in his mouth, shaking his head.

"Poor Shika," he hummed, smiling lightly as Naruto shrugged and re-rolled his scroll for him, placing it close by.

"I got a bunch of things for him to do," Naruto stated, getting a knowing look. "Your mom and dad have cleaned out your apartment, by the way, of food at least. I have your plants so I can repot them."

"Be careful with my herbs, Naruto," Choji warned, his friend snorting and rolling his eyes.

"I know, I know," he drawled, Choji smiling. There were few people he trusted to treat his cooking herbs right, especially when it came to repotting them and keeping them alive for him. "I need to head off and drop off Shikamaru-kun's scroll before I stop to see Ibiki."

"Say hi to Shika for me would ya? And that I'll be by before I'm let out," Choji said, Naruto nodding as he stood. Leaving his friend to his lunch, he headed to where he found Shikamaru lounging in his bed, looking bored with everything as he read a bingo book.

"Anything interesting?" Naruto asked teasingly as he walked into the room, placing Shikamaru's scroll down onto his bed side table. "Choji says hi and he's gonna come around when he can," he continued, Shikamaru shifting and putting his bingo book aside.

"Cool," he grunted, sitting up from his half laying position with a wince. His leg was in a brace, the bone having been knitted together, but was still weak for another two weeks as his bruised back and muscles from being tossed around by various ROOT nins healed. "I take it you've brought me some entertainment."

"Yeah. Mind teasers, some of the paperwork you need to do, that sort of thing," Naruto drawled, handing over the scroll with a knowing smirk on his lips. "Tsunade said that if you don't finish it while you're healing, she's going to sic a sex deprived Genma on you."

"How troublesome," Shikamaru moaned, dropping his head onto the wall behind him. Naruto snickered and patted his head.

"Poor Shikamaru. So tormented," Naruto teased, crossing his arms with laughing eyes, Shimkamaru coming as close as he could to a pout, unsealing the scroll and letting everything appear on the table.

"Gonna go see the others?" Shikamaru asked, picking up a pile of papers, flipping through them.

"Ibiki actually. I've seen Neji and Choji, and everyone else is at home," Naruto replied. Shikamaru hummed and nodded, eyes scanning over the papers. One of Naruto's ears flicked towards the door before turning his eyes towards the nurse who was scowling heavily at him. "Your nurse is here."

"Yeah, I can feel her," Shikamaru drawled, not even caring that she was stalking over.

"You're supposed to be resting," she snarled, reaching out to grab the papers, blinking when Naruto grabbed her wrist.

"You are not allowed to touch anything that is handed to a Shinobi when it deals with a Shinobi's job," Shikamaru drawled as he pulled out a pen to start filling things out. "After all, you're a civilian, so don't think you can supersede the Hokage's orders."

"You heard the man," Naruto drawled, the nurse yanking her arm away with a glare before stalking off to complain to her boss.

"I hate dealing with civilian nurses," Shikamaru grumped, making his friend snicker lightly.

"Why do you have a civilian nurse anyways?" Naruto asked as Shikamaru placed a couple of pages aside.

"I don't. She keeps popping up and trying to push herself on my treatment," Shikamaru stated.

"Good luck with that. I'm off to see Ibiki now," Naruto said, shaking his head and walking out of the room, Shikamaru's chuckle following after him. Sighing, he headed down the hallway to a highly warded area, feeling the sizzle as he passed through them to his suitor.

Coming to stand before the door, he smiled at the sight of Ibiki. He was wearing his usual skull cap, bandages peeking out from under his hospital gown as he read over a scroll, a few boxes scattered around the bed. He was hard at work even as pillows helped keep him comfortable even with broken ribs and a battered body.

"Naruto, have something more interesting then Wolf's rather long and detail filled report?" Ibiki's voice drew Naruto out of his thoughts, blue eyes looking up from the box they had come to rest on.

"Maybe." Stepping in, he closed and locked the door, ensuring their privacy before walking over to his partner, perching on the edge of the bed. "You have bills to be paid and a few books to read when you're not working on your paperwork," he said, waving the scroll. Ibiki smirked and took it, humming in thought as he unsealed it, allowing the items to appear.

Shifting through them, he placed the books aside and picked up the bills, looking over each one before signing them. Naruto watched with a soft smile dancing on his lips, eyes half lidded as he leant back on one hand. He enjoyed watching the large man move, even if it was slower then usual due to his injuries.

As he placed the last bill aside, Ibiki smirked and gazed at Naruto, reaching out to yank him down. Wrapping his arms around the squirming man, he chuckled as Naruto finally found a comfortable spot for the both of them.

"There, much better," he rumbled, smoothing a hand over Naruto's side as he smiled softly.

"I missed you. It's been odd not to have you in the house," Naruto pouted, Ibiki's hand stroking his neck with surprising gentleness.

"I've been gone for two days," Ibiki said, watching a light blush spread over Naruto's cheeks.

"I got used to you being around, I can't help it," Naruto huffed, scratching at his chest with his nails. Ibiki laughed lightly and pressed a kiss to blond locks.

"When I get loose, I'll take you out for a new date," he promised.

"Rent a few movies, make a pizza and cuddle me, and I'll be good," Naruto said.

"Sounds good to me," Ibiki drawled.

Chapter 30

"Fuck." The snarled word surprised Sakura from her contemplation of her bruised ribs, the blacks, blues and greens spreading from just under her breast to down her hips. She had forgotten that Naruto could hit hard enough to break a bone or two himself.

"What now?" she snarled, Danzo glaring at her as the ROOT medic finished placing a new bandage over his wounds and left quickly.

"That was a debacle. Not only have we lost some of our top operatives, but we had to move, again," he snarled, Sakura's green eyes flashing as she snarled and turned fully, letting her shirt fall.

"Oh, fuck you! How were we supposed to know just how strong he is, much less everyone else! Apparently our information is out of date," she sneered, stalking up to the desk and slamming her hands down on it.

"Our information? More like yours since most of it did come from you," he drawled, eyes dark as he stood. Sakura had to admit that the man was fit, not good looking but fit, very strong and smart. But he was still an asshole.

"Mine!? What the fuck do you mean by that?" she screeched, eyes widening.

"Yes, yours! Apparently you've spent so much time fucking around and eyeing the damn Uchiha that you didn't see how much they learned!" he snarled, eyes flashing as she snorted.

"They're all weak! And so were your so called best," she huffed. Danzo snarled wordlessly and grabbed a fist full of pink hair, tugging on it as she snarled back, hands scrambling to pull clothes off. They had fucked before, always after an argument that had heated to a point that they had to release the heat and anger in someway.

Her fingers found his length, pulling hard on it as his fingers ripped her panties off. Hauling her up onto the desk, Danzo pushed her onto her back before sliding into the wet heat offered to him. Not bothering to let Sakura adjust, he started to move, the sound of skin slapping against skin harsh in their ears along with their grunts. Sakura scratched at his back, Danzo adding new bruises on her hips and inner thighs.

Their climaxes were fast in coming, Sakura yelling her pleasure as Danzo growled his, his length twitching in her as he spilled. Panting, the two relaxed, his hands resting on the desk as she let her eyes close.

"It looks as if you're going to have to hope that your people will stay under the radar so we can get new information," Sakura drawled finally, Danzo sliding out of her with a slick pop. Not bothering to zip up, he pulled out a rag and wiped his cock off as Sakura sat up and used the remains of her panties to clean up.

"Yes, I suppose so. I will have to talk with a few of my top people to call my very best back from their missions," Danzo drawled, watching her smooth down her skirt once more. He wondered why he kept her around.

She wasn't the best lay he ever had, a particular ROOT nin holding that honor and a place in his bed. She was always pushing his buttons, as if she always had to piss everyone off. She couldn't stop herself.

"Aren't some of them watching the leftover Oto nins?" Sakura asked, tossing her underwear away and sitting down. "Are you sure you can afford to do that?"

"I don't have much choice about it. A lot of information is second hand about everyone in the village, especially since everything went odd after Orochimaru's attack on the village and Tsunade took over," he drawled, rubbing at his wound, feeling his body stiffen and throb from the beating he had taken from Ibiki. "Today was a fiasco of epic proportions. We were far from ready apparently, and I wonder just why we thought now would be a good time to attack."

"Because if we had left it any longer, then they would have found our last base anyways. This way, we have time to move and call in people now," Sakura drawled, eyes thoughtful. Danzo hummed and stood up, moving to one wall. Opening a panel, he was quick to pull out a large bottle of sake along with a cup before once more sitting down.

"We're going to have to work out a new plan, watch them even closer," he stated, pouring some of the sake before sliding it back with a sigh. "I suggest you go rest and heal. I have much to do before tomorrow, including calling my people back."

"Of course," Sakura drawled, walking out of his office, door slamming behind her. Danzo snorted and poured another drink, sipping at it instead of chugging it down. He had a bit of time before his top operative would arrive with his current report, telling him what had been going on in the last few days. The attack had been a fiasco, making him moan in remembrance, especially with how Naruto had pissed Sakura off so very easily.

It was amazing to him just how much she had fallen on the mental scale of things. Rubbing at his head, Danzo wondered if she had ever been analyzed by a psychological medic nin and if he could get a copy of it.

Writing a note down, he looked up as his top nin came in, closing the door behind him. Danzo nodded and trailed a curious look over the blank face mask and pure black outfit that acted more like a second skin than a uniform. The only thing that stopped it from being pornographic was the large belt that fell over his groin and ass, loose at the bottom and tighter at the top. It was covered in seal marks, making it into a weapons belt instead of just a fashion statement.

"Hello, Night-san," Danzo greeted, waving a hand for him to sit down across from him. He could tell that Night was sneering at the chair that Sakura had sat on before perching on the other chair.

"Danzo-san," Night returned, leaning forward so that he could rest his arms on his knees. Danzo could feel hiding eyes gaze at him as a blank mask met his own gaze.

"Can you tell me anything about the newest generation of nins?" he asked, sitting back in his chair, sake cup in one hand as he waited.

"Not much. Their information is highly guarded, much like all information on Konoha's ninja force. The teams have gotten down right paranoid about their abilities though, especially after the Chunnin exams were attacked," Night stated. "Since most of them are in clans, they're even more paranoid about keeping their information on techniques and abilities secret or as much as you can in this village."

Night's voice was a rumble, easy on the ears but even the barest shift in the tone could send people running and screaming in fear or make them search for a way to make him keep talking. Behind his office door, the ROOT nin's voice was without reflection of his emotions and Danzo liked it.

"Damn Orochimaru. Had to make my plans harder, right?" Danzo growled, draining his cup before putting it down. "I'm trying to gut the rot from this damn village and now everyone is watching everyone else with a hairy eyeball," he grumped. Night snickered and shook his head as he sat back, the picture of long legged relaxation.

Danzo knew from experience that Night would be able to kill or destroy a person from his sprawled position.

"Sir, things are there to be found, you have but to look for it," he stated, Danzo blinking at the man. "You just have to watch them, watch how they move. They have a lazy grace about them that comes from years of practice, training and missions. Even Naruto. Especially him. Even as a child, he had more grace due to his personal life and what he's gone through in life."

"I see. So they're all deadly. But how deadly?" Danzo asked, Night not saying a word. "Night-san, I need you to do something for me. Get any and all psychological reviews for one Sakura Haruno, civilian, academic and nin. I should have done this before but I didn't have time if I wanted to get her out."

"I can do that," the masked nin stated, standing up finally.

"Good. Report back to me as soon as you possibly can," Danzo stated, pouring a fresh cup of his drink. Night walked over to the door and paused with his hand on the knob.

"Sir, you asked me how dangerous they were," he said, Danzo looking up with dark eyes. "They are the most dangerous Shinobis and kunoichis that you will ever come across. They will live long lives; they will be feared and respected. They will create a new generation that will bring peace like you won't believe."

"So you're saying…" Danzo trailed off, eyes narrowing as Night opened the door.

"They are the future of this village and will destroy the rot. They are our saviors," was the statement before he stepped out of the office, the door closing behind him.

Chapter 31

Three days. Three long days of being alone beyond his guards and the occasional visit to Shikamaru and Ibiki in the hospital. Sparrow had nearly attached himself to Naruto as the young Shinobi went about his business playing Ibiki's secretary.

Sighing, Naruto played with his pen and looked down at the notebook that he had started to use as an outlet for his thoughts. He couldn't go to Jiraiya, Tsunade or Iruka, not wanting to take them away from the rebuilding of the damaged buildings and businesses, so he used the notebook. He had started with his thoughts about his time with Ibiki and his courting and had worked his way through Sakura's betrayal and was working on the Uchihas.

When he had found out about the reason why Itachi had left, Naruto had worked to get the elder Uchiha out of his suicide mission.

The mission had been simple: Get into the Akatsuki and destroy them from the inside out.

Unfortunately the 3rd Hokage had died before he could do so and Itachi had ended up stuck. Naruto had found the information hidden amongst all of the guard and life information about him. Once that had been found, he and Tsunade had made plans to tell Sasuke and to pull Itachi out. It had taken then nearly a year to get both of the Uchihas back.

Since Itachi had been working under the 3rd's orders with Ibiki as his emergency contact, he had been debriefed by the interrogation expert, cleared and returned to duty while being instated as the Uchiha clan head.

Naruto had gotten the chance to explain everything to Sasuke, including that it had been Orochimaru that had worked hard to get his greasy paws on an Uchiha with a Sharingan and that it had been someone unknown who had pushed Danzo into ordering the death of the clan. Sasuke had thrown a fit, sliced off Orochimarus head and gone back to the village with him. That had been nearly two years ago when they had been 17 years of age.

Sighing, Naruto closed the notebook and stood up to stare out of the study window. The house had been cleaned once more, Ibiki's desk organized, all of Naruto's paperwork done, completed ANBU paperwork filed at the ANBU headquarters and several notebooks filled already. But now he was bored, his mind dancing with thoughts of what had happened.

"What a nutsy few years," Naruto huffed, shaking his head with a frown. His ears twitched as he thought of what was going to happen once it got out that Sakura had turned traitor. The other villages would have to put out an amended Bingo Book, again, while some worked to get her to work for them.

But why she had fucked up so bad was…it had been a surprise at the time, but now that Naruto had had time to think about it, it wasn't surprising. She had always been a Sasuke fan, one of the scariest of them all, beating out Ino, When Sasuke had left, it seemed as if all she wanted was her friend back. But her diaries had shown that she thought that he had been driven away by Tsunade and others who were dirt compared to him.

As the months and years had progressed, from whatever his friends had observed, she had gotten past her extreme 'love' for Sasuke. She had dated Lee for a time before splitting, the problems happening around them taking most of their time. But once Sasuke and Itachi had come back, she had seemingly slipped back into her old ways as a Sasuke fangirl.

All that had happened was her mask cracking before shattering with her last stunt.

Groaning, Naruto rubbed at his face, moving to flop down onto the couch, letting his legs stretch out. Sparrow gazed at him from the doorway before shaking his and going about his business.

On top of it all, a new love interest had popped up with Ibiki. The warmth of their relationship spread through Naruto, tugging at his heart and making him smile contently. Brushing his fingertips over his lips, he chuckled lightly and shook his head as he started to watch Sparrow walk back and forth outside of the study, checking traps and setting a few more.

Ibiki had turned out to be a complete sweetheart when he put his mind to it and had been showing that side of himself every chance he got. Shifting onto his side, Naruto laid his head on the arm of the chair as he continued to think.

The dates and days with Ibiki were perfect for him, for them, but he was starting to cry about how much he had to work himself off. It was as if just hearing his boyfriend's name would send heat flaring through him and make him half hard. He had no doubt that his older companion was much in the same boat as him. He also had no doubt that they would end up in bed, finally giving into the need that flared hot and hard between them.

He wanted it, but he didn't want to lose their easy friendship and closeness, having seen it happen before.

"Naruto, do you want to go see Ibiki-san?" Sparrow asked, standing in the doorway as he pulled off his mask. Going from the ANBU named Sparrow to the Shinobi named Raidou always fascinated Naruto, making him smile.

"Yeah, sure," Naruto hummed, sitting up on the couch as Raidou placed his mask down on a sealing scroll, along with his ANBU cloak. He was wearing the basic ANBU clothes, which he pulled a looser pair of pants and his vest over.

"Good, cause he's about ready to toss his current nurse out the damn window," Raidou drawled, getting a laugh from Naruto.

"Sounds about right with him," Naruto drawled. Shaking his head, he walked out of the house and towards the hospital, the two happy with the silence between them. Walking into the hospital, Raidou headed for the archive section to speak with Sasuke while Naruto went to find Ibiki, finding him scowling at a nurse who was trying to collect his scrolls. "Man, you would think that you would know for a nurse working for a bunch of nins not to touch scrolls," he said, taking them and placing them back down.

"And you are?" the nurse huffed, eyes widening as Naruto leant over and pressed a kiss to Ibiki's cheek.

"A nin and Ibiki's boyfriend. Why are there so many civilians working in a nin hospital?" Naruto asked, Ibiki shrugging. "I'm going to have to talk with Tsunade-baa-chan about this soon."

"Later. For now, help me find the finished scrolls and paperwork," Ibiki drawled as the nurse huffed off, making them shake their heads.

"How are you feeling, Ibiki?" Naruto asked, smiling softly as they went through the scrolls.

"Better. They've been able to heal more of my wounds," Ibiki drawled, placing the finished paperwork away. Once that was done, Naruto crawled onto the bed and curled up against him with a sigh of pleasure. Reaching up, he ran a hand through soft blond hair as he yawned and relaxed. "Haven't been sleeping very well, huh?" he asked.

"No, I got used to you being around at night," Naruto pouted, flashing a pair of puppy eyes up at him. Ibiki chuckled lowly and smoothed a hand down his back.

"I'll be home in the next few days," Ibiki promised, getting a soft smile from Naruto.

"Ibiki…how could I not see what was going on with her? Was I really that blind?" Blinking and looking away from the papers in his hands as Naruto shifted, Ibiki gazed down at him with a raised eyebrow. They had fallen into a comfortable silence, Ibiki reading over reports while he stroked over Naruto's hair as he rested.

"With who? Haruno?" he asked, placing his papers aside and shifting to stare at Naruto.

"Yeah," Naruto said, gazing up at him with a worried look on his face.

"You weren't blind. It looks as if she was good at hiding behind her mask. According to her psych evals, the ones that I can get at, she seemed smart, strong, the usual quirks a nin has but sane," Ibkik drawled. "With you, you were always face to face with her, you were always seeing it."

"I see," Naruto sighed, shifting and stretching before squeaking when Ibiki dragged him to straddle his lap. "'Biki," he squeaked, getting a low laugh.

"I have missed being able to kiss you," Ibiki hummed, rubbing a thumb over Naruto's full bottom lip, enjoying the gentle blush. Naruto could remember the first time that they had kissed and all of the ones that followed his companion was always gentle, but passionate with tasting and drawing pleasure from it.

"I missed it too. The little pecks aren't enough," Naruto pouted, leaning forward to brush their lips together, blue eyes darkening as Ibiki ran his hands down his back. Large hands stroked over the dip of his back before cupping his ass, squeezing until he squeaked.

"Ah, I missed that too," Ibiki chuckled, eyes dancing with pleasure as their lips brushed together. Naruto hummed and brushed his fingers over the other's jaw. Leaning forward, the scarred man sealed their lips together and nipped at the bottom lip that called to him.

Naruto sighed and firmly pressed their lips together, Ibiki growling lowly as lean arms wrapped around his neck. Stroking his tongue over the full lips, the scarred man tasted his boyfriend fully as they stroked and teased the slick muscles. Their bodies pressed together as they tried to fulfill their need for each other.

Naruto was the first to pull away, panting through swollen lips as he gazed at a smugly leering Ibiki who was holding him close.

"When you get home, I will be giving in," Naruto breathed, unsurprised when Ibiki growled and started another kiss that was deep and fierce, making him mewl.

Chapter 32

Closing the door behind him, Itachi watched as Sasuke took up a position next to the window before trailing his dark eyes over the assembled people. Tsunade was sitting behind her desk, chin perched on one hand as she scowled at something written in a report. Jiraya was scowling at his wrapped up ankle that was propped up on the table before him. Kakashi was being Kakashi, reading his Icha Icha as he leant against a wall.

"You requested us, Tsunade-sama?" Itachi asked, drawing her eyes from the papers.

"Yes. We have a few things to discuss and since the two ANBU who are working this are down, it's just us," Tsunade said, crossing her legs as she sat back.

"About?" Kakashi asked as he tucked his book away again.

"First, Sakura and Danzo. I had someone watching her files, just in case someone tried to pull them. One of Ibiki's spies pulled the fake files on her. Her mental exam files to be precise, which gave us the legal right to read them," Tsunade stated, holding up the report. "From what he was able to slip us, Danzo is worried about Sakura's sanity."

"She's always been a bit unhinged," Sasuke drawled, shaking his head.

"Where's your fiancé?" Jiraya asked, eyebrows furrowing as he looked at Sasuke.

"At work with an ANBU guard watching over her. He's been helping to digitize the medical archives, so it's not so hard for him to watch her while I'm not there," Sasuke replied.

"Back to Sakura please," Tsunade stated. "I've read over a few of her mental exam files and they all agree so far. She was a heavy Sasuke fan girl but sane enough to stay active as a nin. Apparently she has been seeing a retired Shinobi therapist and I have those files being gone through now."

"What are they saying about her?" Jiraya asked, Tsunade shifting through the files on her desk, finding what she wanted.

"That she was as sane as anyone, but there was an almost maniacal quality to her feelings about a few people, including Naruto and Sasuke," Tsunade sighed lowly. "He could never quite pin down why she was so maniacal about them. Or so his report says."

"Well, we knew she didn't completely like Naruto, especially since he handed Sasuke his ass so many times. But I could have sworn she had lost her so called love for Sasuke," Kakashi drawled, blinking down at Sai when he popped up in a light puff of smoke.

"Ah, but our dear psychotic one has always wanted to be 'Mrs. Sasuke Uchiha'. As a ROOT nin I was supposed to tell Danzo all about my teammates, but there were a lot of things that I left out of my reports," Sai stated, handing over a scroll with a nod.

"Where have you been?" Jiraya asked, his eyes dark as he sat up a bit more.

"I've been touching base with a few contracts inside of ROOT and a few that have their fingers on and in the information line," Sai stated, smiling lightly. "All on Tsunade-san's orders by the way."

"Calm down, Jiraya. What did they say?" Tsunade asked.

"They couldn't tell me much but they did tell me that those two fuck on occasion, but he still takes his lover to bed," Sai hummed.

"I did not need to know about an old guy's sex life," Sasuke moaned, rubbing his hand over his face. "Gah! Old guy fucking!"

"Now I know how to torture you when you piss your wife off," Itachi snickered.

"Get gored," Sasuke huffed, glaring at his brother as the others snickered with the byplay between them.

"How is Naruto-kun and Ibiki-san's relationship going?" Sai asked suddenly.

"It's actually going rather well, even with everything going on," Kakashi answered with a smile.

"They've been going on dates, being as cute as Ibiki can be," Jiraya chirped, eyes sparkling as he sat back, arms behind his head. "They've also been around each other near constantly and yet they haven't had a single fight. They're a good balance between each other."

"That sounds good. Where is Ibiki-san and Naruto-kun now?" Sai asked, eyes turning to Itachi.

"Naruto-kun is currently working for the ANBU offices so he can help Ibiki-san, who is still in a hospital bed at the moment," Itachi drawled. "He's also being stalked by one of the ANBU at all times."

"Are you worried that Sakura may come back?" Sai asked, frowning at that possibility. Itachi shook his head and sat down on the couch next to Jiraya.

"Nothing like that, Sai-kun. They're there to help keep Naruto-kun from falling into a depression," Itachi stated, eyes bored, barely hiding his worry for the young man under the mask.

"That and to also make sure he gets some much needed sleep, despite how much he's hating sleeping without Ibiki-san nearby. If Naruto-kun had his way, he'd cuddle up to his suitor at night. But the nurses wouldn't be particularly happy with that."

"They didn't like that he had to remind them that even nin medics aren't allowed to touch any paperwork that the patient is doing," Tsunade chuckled, eyes half lidded. "I went over earlier to chew them out, especially since most of that paperwork is sensitive things."

"I see," Sai said, blinking as he thought. "Are they talking about bonding yet?" he asked as Tsunade started to go through scrolls and papers.

"Not to my knowledge," Jiraya stated. "Then again, I've been hunting down Sakura and Danzo."

"If they talked about it, it wasn't around me," Itachi hummed, playing with a kunai as he continued to look bored.

"I haven't had much time to really talk with them with the search for Sakura," Tsunade stated, "so I have no idea."

"Same here. I've been working, bonding with my lovers," Kakashi drawled.

"Getting said lovers to play out some Icha Icha scenes more like it," Sasuke drawled, smirking. "When Ibiki first filled out the request to court, Naruto said that he hoped it would end in a bonding but he would be happy with just being with Ibiki as his lover. The man treats him like the rarest rose without suffocating him from what I've seen," he continued, flicking his wrist and rolling his eyes. No one was fooled; all of them seeing the slight smile that danced on Sasuke's lips.

"It's cute. Sometimes cavity inducing sweet," Itachi hummed. "Kinda like you and Mis-chan."

"I will hurt you again," Saskue snorted, pouting and trying to hide it. Itachi just smirked and wave his kunai at his brother.

"You'll try, dear brother, you'll try," he teased.

"Alright, you two, stop poking at each other," Tsunade snorted, the two smirking at her.

"Yes, mother," they chorused together.

"Like school children," Tsunade moaned, rubbing a hand over her face as the others laughed, relaxing with smiles all around.

Chapter 33

Putting away the last of the blankets, Naruto looked up and had to smile at the sound of Ibiki grumbling as he walked in from the front door, Itachi snickering in the background. Shaking his head, he headed downstairs to greet the two who were standing in the hallway, the Uchiha pulling off Ibiki's shoes for him.

"Welcome home," Naruto hummed, waiting for his friend to move so he could hug his larger partner. He sighed quietly as the spicy under scent that was Ibiki surrounded him, the man chuckling as he wrapped his arms around Naruto's slim back.

"It's good to be home," Ibiki rumbled, nose buried in blond locks. "I hate hospitals."

"And that's why Tsunade-sama allowed you to leave after only 2 weeks instead of the month," Itachi drawled, heading towards the kitchen.

"That and I kept threatening the nurses," Ibiki stated, causing Naruto to laugh and smile up at him.

"You glad that they were able to fully heal your ribs?" he asked, drawing Ibiki into the study, making the man take a chair.

"Very. Now all I have to do is train my poor ribs back into shape," Ibiki teased, Naruto snorting as he flopped into his own seat.

"Right. You get pudgy after 2 weeks," he drawled, getting a bark of laughter from the scarred man.

"Indeed," Itachi walked in, placing a cup down next to Ibiki, along with a pill.

"I also need to take a calcium supplement for the next two weeks," he grumped, Naruto and Itachi sharing an amused look between them.

"I'll make sure you take it," Naruto promised, getting a smile from Ibiki. "And that you don't over work yourself."

"My very own foxy nurse," Ibiki snorted, getting a low laugh as Naruto smacked his arm.

"That was so very bad," Naruto whined, Ibiki smirking before pulling him into his lap. The young man squeaked and wiggled in his lap.

"But so very worth it," Ibiki chuckled, nuzzling into his neck. Itachi was quick to leave the two alone, knowing his presence wouldn't be welcomed. "I missed being able to touch and hold you without someone walking in on us," he said, voice low and rumbling. Naruto's ear twitched against the strong chest from where he had laid his head.

"Same here," Naruto hummed, moving with Ibiki as the man stretched out his legs, leaning back in the chair. "So what do we do next?" he asked quietly. Ibiki shifted slightly, meeting blue eyes.

"What do you want to do?" Ibiki asked curiously. Naruto blushed gently and played with his companion's shirt before looking up through his lashes.

"I think that I want to bond as soon as we can," Naruto finally said, Ibiki blinking down at him. "So?"

"I think that's a perfect idea. We're gonna need at least a month to get the kimonos done," Ibiki answered, mind whirling.

"I talked with Tsunade-baachan a couple of days ago about the best places to go for them actually," Naruto said, shifting. Handing Ibiki his calcium pill, he found the three brochures to look through them with the older man.

"I've used The Leaf Vein before for the rare thing I need to go to," Ibiki drawled, pointing to one as he put his glass down after taking the pill.

"You mean for all those meetings with the Dynamo that you need to attend," Naruto teased, Ibiki squeezing him with a smirk.

"Just wait until you become the Hokage, you'll need to meet him too," was the teasing reply, making Naruto moan in distaste and wrinkle his nose.

"So you're going to support me in my quest to be Hokage?" Naruto asked, looking up at Ibiki with wide eyes.

"I have from the start, I just wasn't able to show it until you turned old enough. And even then, as the head of the interrogation unit and the ANBU, it had to be a quiet support," he said, rubbing the base of one ear.

"Thank you for backing me up," Naruto said, smirking softly up at the man, a hand coming up to cup the back of Ibiki's head. Pulling him down, Naruto brushed their lips together, the larger man growling lowly and wrapping his arms around the lean waist.

Deepening the kiss, Ibiki dragged his tongue over the full lips pressed against his, feeling them open and allow his tongue into the sweet mouth. The two moaned at the first real taste of each other in the last two weeks, tongues playing and pressing against each other. Naruto sighed and tugged at the other's skull cap, removing it from the scarred head. The texture under his fingers had once been odd to him, at least for a bit of time. But to Naruto, the feelings of the dips and welts that he stroked were perfect to him, something no one else had.

Pulling away from the kiss, Naruto panted softly, feeling Ibiki trail his lips over his jaw and neck, drawing out a soft moan. Chuckling, Ibiki trailed his hands down to the strong thighs and got his fiancé to straddle his lap. Their groins brushed, hard length brushing hard length hard enough to pull a whimper of need from Naruto as he rolled their hips together.

"Do you trust me?" Ibiki breathed into one pointed ear, feeling it flicker.

"Yes," Naruto hummed, blue eyes meeting dark ones. Smirking, Ibiki used one hand to undo their pants, releasing their lengths. Shoving both of their pants down a bit, he curled his hand around their pricks, stroking. Naruto gasped, hands coming down to cling to his fiancé's shoulders at the new feeling.

They had kissed and rubbed, but never had they touched each other in such a way. Yet Naruto could only enjoy the shock of pleasure, eyes falling shut as he rocked with Ibiki, dark eyes watching as he moaned and panted.

"That's it, enjoy this," Ibiki growled, leaning forward to taste the sweet skin of Naruto's neck, still stroking them with one hand. He hummed when a long fingered hand reached down to curl with his, moving and stroking.

Groaning, Ibiki squeezed gently, getting a gasping moan from Naruto. A leer spread over his face as the hand moving with his twitched, and swiped a large thumb over the tips of their lengths. It didn't take long for the two to find their peaks, Naruto flushing as he shivered and spilled over their hands, eyes fluttering shut. Ibiki groaned and pulled him close, following after as he buried his face into the sweet neck.

"Fuck." The expletive made him look to the nearly limp blond as he twitched in the aftershocks. Ibiki chuckled and trailed his clean hand over the lean back, finding blue eyes open and gazing at him. "You are amazing."

"Just wait until we actually have sex," Ibiki chuckled, getting a sweet blush from Naruto.

"Yeah, I have no doubt it'll blow me away," Naruto chuckled.

"Though, I have to ask, are you a virgin in any way?" Ibiki asked.

"Well, not with females. I just never found anyone to sleep with otherwise," Naruto admitted, blushing gently.

"Good," Ibiki breathed, cupping Naruto's ass with his clean hand.

Chapter 34

The cursed filled call that came eventually didn't really surprise Ibiki and Naruto when it came. Sighing, Naruto put down the phone and grabbed the scroll that held his weapons, his companion pulling on his jacket with a grumble.

"Where are they attacking?" Ibiki asked, pulling open the door to his office, Naruto following after him as he pulled on his own weapons pouch.

"Apparently the Hokage Tower is being attacked this time. They're going for the big target this time," Naruto stated as they bounded out of the ANBU building and onto roof tops. "Let's get over there. I have a bone to pick with the pink haired bitch."

"So, you're going after her again?" Ibiki asked as they ran for the tower.

"Yep," Naruto chuckled, pulling out a kunai and slicing the throat of a ROOT nin that dared to get in his way. Ibiki snorted and tossed his own attacker off of the room. "Let's kick her ass. Ibiki, can you kick Danzo's ass again?" he asked, throwing the kunai, jumping over the sudden dead body.

"I can do that," the scarred man drawled before they separated to find their opponents.

It had been nearly a month since the last month and two weeks since Ibiki had arrived home, and everything had been going pretty good for everyone. The damages had been repaired quickly while everyone who needed to trained. Ibiki and Naruto trained together, Naruto learning some new moves and ways to fight from the man. When they weren't training or doing paperwork, they were using their free time to explore each other and their relationship while planning the bonding ceremony.

Shaking his head, Naruto landed on a wall, watching as Sakura traded blows with several ANBU. Deciding that he wanted to take her down himself, he ran at her, slamming his fist hard into her side which got a scream of pain from her. Ignoring that, he continued to attack, Sakura quickly returning the hits.

Dodging under a kick, Naruto came up and landed a glancing blow to her back before squeaking as she twisted, a kunai whizzing over his head.

"Bitchy has claws," Naruto taunted, Sakura growling and once more lunging at him. With his ears and tail twitching, the younger of the two kept moving and dodging her attacks, landing a few of his own. He was starting to compare his current fight to the last one against her.

"Aw, come on, Sakura, don't you have any moves beyond your power attacks?" He whined, easily dodging the punches and kicks now that he had them down. "Man, even Shikamaru gives me more of a fight and he's a lazy bastard," he pouted, ears flattening at the shriek of anger that the words got. He still had to smirk and used a kunai to deflect a barrage of them, moving out of the way of what he couldn't. "Aww, did that hit a button?"

"Shut up, you stupid demon!" Sakura shrieked, following after as he bounded off towards the ANBU headquarters. He knew that the ANBU not in a fight would be waiting for them with Anko, he just hoped they were ready for her.

"Come on, Sakura, you've known me for how long and you really think I'm a demon?" Naruto asked, stopping a kick, using his hold on her to toss her into a wall. "You know, if I was the Kyuubi, I would have destroyed the village long before now," he drawled, walking over to where she was struggling to get up from the hole that she had created from her landing.

"You're just playing them, making them think that you're nothing but innocent in all of those deaths," Sakura hissed as she hauled herself up.

"So…you doubt the Fourth's sealing work?" Naruto asked, blue eyes dark.

"What?" She asked, frowning heavily at him. Naruto cocked an eyebrow at her as his tail twitched behind him.

"Don't tell me that you forgot that it was the Fourth Hokage that sealed the Kyuubi in me," he said, her clueless look making him groan. "You know what? Anko, take the pink menace into custody please? She's an idiot of epic proportions and needs a fucking history lesson." Anko snorted from behind Sakura, knocking her out with a fist to the back of her neck.

"Man, is it me or was that really easy?" Anko asked, Sparrow hauling Sakura's body up off the ground, slinking her over his shoulder.

"I think Danzo left since I see Ibiki," Naruto said in reply, pointing towards a black clad speck that was heading towards them.

"Looks like you're right," Anko stated, watching as her boss arrived, dropping onto the ground near them. "So, boss man, what's up?" she asked.

"Danzo suddenly retreated. I think that her capture was planned by him," Ibiki said, Naruto blinking at him as his ears and tail once more twitched with his thoughts.

"I think that he found something that made him want to get rid of her and fast," Naruto hummed as Sparrow disappeared to stash her in a cell. "I don't think we'll have to worry about her getting out anytime soon, at least with some help from Danzo. Which is good."

"Yeah," Anko drawled, watching Naruto bounce on his feet as Ibiki eyed him with a smirk on his lips. "I'm gonna go frisk her so she can't try to get away suddenly."

"Please do that. Naruto and I will hand out jobs from my office, after we talk with Tsunade-san," Ibiki said, Anko smirking before disappearing. The two were soon talking with Tsundae, debriefing on what needed to be done to be cleaned up before they headed to his office. Everyone that had been in the fight, and were able to, dropped by with their basic reports before heading off again with their jobs.

As the sun set, Ibiki and Naruto finally left the office again, needing to get away and relax finally. The fight had left them edgy and filled with energy that they needed to release.

"Did you know that Sakura completely forgot that it was the Fourth that sealed Kyuubi in me?" Naruto asked, pulling off his shoes and put them aside once they were inside their home. Ibiki was already pulling off his coat and hanging it up before he started to remove his weapons.

"No, I didn't, he said, frowning lightly at Naruto who was nodding his head.

"Yeah. She gave me a confused look when I mentioned it," he replied, shrugging as he shed his own weapons. "Do you think that her mind is dying or something?"

"Possibly. I'll have someone check it out tomorrow," Ibiki promised, Naruto nodding his head. Pulling him close, the large man ran his hands down over the lean back and buried his nose into soft hair. Naruto sighed as his companion pressed a soft kiss to the base of one ear.

"Hey, 'Biki?" Naruto asked, getting a questioning rumble. "Can we…well that is… Will you sleep with me?" The shyness that came from Naruto surprised Ibiki, making him pull back and look down at him.

"You really want to have sex?" Ibiki asked, stroking one whiskered cheek.

"Yeah, I do," he hummed, smiling up at his fiancé.

"Alright. But a shower for us first," Ibki said, pulling Naruto up the stairs with a smile.

Chapter 35

Once they were in Ibiki's bathroom, Naruto laughed as he tilted his head back, smirking at his soon to be lover and pulling his shirt off. Tossing it to the side, he eagerly watched as Ibiki pulled off his own shirt, along with his skull cap. The man's body was heavily scarred, but that hardly bothered the younger of them, having seen quite a few of them before.

Reaching out, Naruto smoothed his fingertips over one scar, remembering what his soon to be lover had told him about it. It had been one of his first scars, the reminder of a very foolish mistake when he had been a young man, barely in a chunnin vest. It had been an interesting and well learned lesson now that it was far in the past. Now it was a very long, pale scar that Naruto loved to stroke over.

"Come on, let me get undressed before you start teasing me," Ibiki rumbled, stroking over one whiskered cheek. Naruto chuckled lowly and stepped away from him to continue undressing.

Pulling off his pants, his tail curling over his hip and groin, Naruto started the shower as Ibiki followed his example. Watching the younger man test the heat of the shower, Ibiki leant against the sink counter to enjoy the sweet sight of his lover.

"Come on, get into the shower with me," Naruto said, teasing as he stepped under the water, hair and tail turning a dark gold. Ibiki stepped in after, pulling him close to feel their skin press close together, sliding against each other.

"So, am I finally going to be able to wash your hair?" Ibiki asked, smirking at Naruto, who just cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, you'll finally get to wash my hair and fur," Naruto chuckled, handing Ibiki the bottle of shampoo. Turning around, the fox purred as his fiancé poured a bit of the goo onto his head before massaging it into his hair.

"I do enjoy playing with your head," Ibiki teased, getting a soft blush from Naruto.

"Just what head are you talking about is the question," came the teasing reply, Ibiki chuckling as he gently stroked the base of Naruto's ears. Leaning into the touch, he sighed lowly and continued to relax under the knowing, massaging touch.

"Depends on which one I just happen to be playing with at the time," Ibiki drawled, working the suds through blond locks.

"Oh, very funny," Naruto said, getting a low laugh as Ibiki leant down to kiss the tip of one ear. Feeling it flicker, he smiled gently and turned Naruto around to rinse out his hair.

After that, they settled into enjoying their shower together, washing and rinsing each other, finding erogenous spots on each others body. Each touch aroused and stroked their need for their lover.

"Come on, sweet love, come to bed with me," Ibiki rumbled in one ear, feeling it twitch under his breath as he worked on getting the water out of Naruto's tail with a towel.

"You make going to bed sound so naughty," Naruto teased as his fiancé carded his fingers through the soft fur of his tail. "Come then, do naughty things to me," he purred, laying his own towel over the towel rack.

Ibiki's eyebrow raised upwards as he watched Naruto walk back into the bedroom, tail twitching over the curve of the ass that he would soon be buried in. Smirking, the man followed after, dropping his towel into a hamper before stepping into the dimly lit bedroom, finding Naruto already crawling onto the bed. The swaying of the hips and tail hypnotized the scarred man as Naruto perched on his knees, tail curling over his hip as he blushed.

Smiling, Ibiki walked over to the lush bed, a rare luxury that he enjoyed, and made sure that the oil they would need was nearby. Kneeling on the bed, he pulled Naruto close, stroking one cheek as they gently kissed, lips brushing and pressing together. Tongues came into play, tasting and touching as hands moved to rediscover spots that brought pleasure to their partner.

Sighing, Naruto pulled away, licking his lips as Ibiki smiled down at him. The fox was contently straddling his lover, their lengths rubbing together as they basked in each other. Smiling, he pushed the scarred man onto his back, leaning over him with a promise of pleasure in his eyes. Leaning down, he trailed his tongue down his neck, going lower with his mouth and tongue as he tasted skin and scars.

Ibiki groaned lowly as lush lips found spots that sent heat rushing through his body. Blue eyes glanced up as straight white teeth dragged over the skin right above the dip of his belly button. The growl made Naruto smirk and move lower, his tongue coming out to trail up the underside of the hard length before him. Ibiki growled again, hands twisting in the bed sheets to keep from grabbing onto Naruto's hair and thrusting into the shy mouth that was sliding over the tip of his cock.

Feeling a bit of smugness welling up at the sounds that Ibiki was making, Naruto curled one hand around the part that he couldn't fit into his mouth. Stroking with his hand, he started to suck and lick at what he could fit, enjoying the sounds and the taste of his lover, Naruto shivered happily.

"Naruto, come up here," Ibiki rumbled, reaching down to gently tug the fox off his length. Naruto looked up at him with dark eyes, licking friction swollen lips as he crawled back up the large body. "Perfect." Rubbing his lover's bottom lip, he easily flipped them over, lowering his own lips to the tanned neck that arched up to meet them.

Naruto wrapped his arms around the broad shoulders as he arched up into the strong hands that stroked down over his sides. He happily spread his thighs, letting Ibiki come to rest between them as one hand moved down to feather his fingers over the twitching entrance.

"Enjoy this, let me pleasure you," Ibiki rumbled, lifting his lips to a flickering ear. Rubbing at the sweet entrance, he drew his hand away to grab the jar and slick his fingers with some of the oil. Bringing the hand back down, he pressed at the ring, stroking once more, watching as Naruto arched up into the touch as blue eyes gazed up at him with lust glimmering in his eyes.

"I know you will," Naruto stated, groaning as Ibiki slid a finger into his body, feeling it twitch under the pressure. Rocking the finger in and out of the tight body, he smirked as the lean body moved with it, the muscle relaxing and opening as Ibiki nibbled on the tip of one ear.

"That's it. Does it hurt at all?" Ibiki asked, adding a second finger, Naruto shaking his head as his body twitched and went limp.

"No, feels good," Naruto groaned, pressing back into the finger, one leg sliding up Ibiki's side.

"Good," the scarred man drawled as he spread his fingers open. Naruto gasped and shuddered in pleasure at the feeling, rolling his hips.

"More, please," Naruto groaned, grabbing a hold of the headboard and tightening his hold as Ibiki smiled lustfully and slid a third finger in. Laughing lowly, the scarred man thrust his finger in and out, loosening the ring of muscles.

"Enjoying yourself, huh?" Ibiki teased. Firmly pressing on the bundle of nerves that made up Naruto's sweet spot, he leered at the choked moan as the younger man arched upwards, skin flushing. "I'll take that as a yes," he smirked, his lover going limp once more, muscles occasionally twitching.

Playing with the muscles for a few more moments before pulling them out, Ibiki poured some of the oil onto his length, hissing at the coolness. Gazing down at blue eyes, he used one hand to coat himself as his other hand reached out to stroke his lover's cheek.

"Here we go," he rumbled, Naruto perching one foot on his shoulder as Ibiki moved to press the head of his cock against the stretched entrance. Pushing gently, he slid into the slicked hole easily, the muscles relaxing, giving under the steady pressure. "All the way in," Ibiki breathed, sliding a hand down Naruto's thigh, feeling it quiver as he got used to the feeling of being full.

"Feels…different," the younger man groaned, wrapping his other leg around Ibiki's waist, pulling him in deeper. "But good. Move?"

"Yeah, I'll move now," Ibiki said, pressing a lean thigh up towards Naruto's chest as he gently pulled out. Thrusting back in, he smirked at the moan he got, slim hips arching up into his movements. Settling into a languid pace, he leant over and brushed their lips together, one hand pressed into the pillow.

Naruto let go of the headboard and wrapped his arms around his fiancé's shoulders as he rocked with each thrust, whimpers and moans escaping from him. Ibiki was continuously growling into the deep kisses, his other hand moving down to cup and stroke his lover's prick in time with his thrusts. He could feel the fox's tail curl and brush against his thigh as they reached their peaks.

Arching, his body tensing and twitching, Naruto yelled out his pleasure wordlessly, slicking Ibiki's hand with sticky whiteness as his entrance tightened around the driving cock. The scarred man groaned and managed a few more thrusts into the strangling entrance before rolling his hips and spilling deeply, making his lover mewl at the twitching of his cock.

Panting heavily, Ibiki slowly pulled out of the smaller body, Naruto wincing from the sensitivity of the movement. Smoothing a hand over sweaty skin, he sat up once more and gazed over Naruto, making sure that his lover wasn't in too much pain. Once satisfied that all was well beyond some soreness, he slipped out of bed and gathered a wash cloth, cleaning them both.

"Feeling good?" Ibiki asked, Naruto smiling sweetly up at him before nodding.

"Feeling really good," Naruto hummed as he stretched, allowing Ibiki to move him around and under the blankets. Once they were under them, he curled close to his lover, laying his head over the scarred chest, letting his eyes fall shut as Ibiki stroked his hair.

Chapter 36

Staring at the bound woman behind the one way glass, Ibiki let a feral grin spread over his lips at the thought of being able to get revenge against her. Sakura was heavily bound by chakra chains with her eyes covered and a gag wrapped tightly around her mouth. Every so often, she would twitch and tug at her chains or turn her head to a perceived noise.

What she didn't know was that Anko and a few ANBU were purposefully making soft noises, or creating breezes. It was a way to get her imagination running, making her paranoid, off balance. Easy picking for when he finally stepped into his personal torture room.

He had left her hanging as they rebuilt, again, and healed for the last three days, not letting her know exactly what time of day it was, her food coming in small spurts and at random times. Her cell had been just four walls, no window, and a bed that was comfortable enough. That was, when the lights had been turned off before they came back on.

Isolation and sleep deprivation were still preferred techniques of torture for a reason. They worked and worked well.

Looking to Anko, Ibiki raised an eyebrow as she came in, brushing off her hands. She was looking undeniably smug with herself, making him shake his head.

"I take it that you had fun," he said, Anko nodding her head. "I figured as much. She seems about ready. Prep the lights and start the recordings please."

"Yes, sir," Anko chirped before bouncing out. Ibiki watched her, well used to her odd antics right before a session. She would get giddy, almost as if she was high on something. Afterwards, she would be mellow and relaxed, doing her paperwork and giving new recruits a couple of days from their fear driven training. After a day or two, she would be back to normal and terrorizing new recruits and her fellow nins.

"Such an odd woman," Ibiki drawled, turning back to gaze into the room as the lights were lowered, Naruto stopping the closing door to step in.

"She ready to go round?" he asked, leaning into his lover's arms as he gazed at Sakura with darkened blue eyes, his ears and tail twitching in agitation. Ibiki simply reached up and smoothed a hand over Naruto's ears, getting the fur to lay flat as they continued to watch her.

She was starting to twitch in an interesting way.

"Yep. Three days of not knowing when it was day or night, and random snacks instead of full meals, and she's ready to twitch like a trapped jack rabbit," he smirked, Naruto chuckling lowly as he hugged his larger lover.

"You're so good," he teased, Ibiki reaching down and squeezing his ass in reply. "Ibiki! Bad pervy interrogator."

"Your pervy interrogator thought," Ibiki chuckled. Naruto rolled his eyes and pointed at Inochi as the man bend over and breathed into Sakura's ear, getting a muffled shriek.

"Looks like your friend started without you," Naruto mused.

"Indeed. I best go in," Ibiki said, moving to the door, Naruto trailing behind.

"I'll wait in your office while you do your work," Naruto stated, leaving after stealing a lingering kiss and a promise for a hot dinner together. Walking into the interrogation room, he let the door slam behind him. Sakura jumped and turned towards the sound as Ibiki nodded his head to Inochi to remove her gag and blindfold. Watching as she jerked her jaw side to side and blink under the sudden brightness of the lights despite their dimness, he sat down before her, opening a folder before him and picked up a pen.

"Sakura Haruno, age 19. Daughter of the civilian family Haruno. You have been a nin since you were 12 years of age when you graduated the academy, correct?" he asked, voice pleasant.

"Yes, that's correct," she husked, voice rusty from previous screaming fits that she had had in her cell.

"Your genin team mates were Sasuke Uchiha, top of his class and one Naruto Uzumaki, bottom of his class with jonin sensei Hatake Kakashi, correct?"

"Yes. Why are you asking me all of this?" she snarled, Inochi fisting his hand in her hair and tugging in warning. The yell of pain barely fazed the two men even as the mind worker released her hair.

"You became Tsunade-sama's apprentice about the time Naruto left to train with Jiraya-sama and Sasuke-san left the village as a supposed traitor, correct?" Ibiki continued, making the occasional mark on the papers before him.

"Yes," Sakura hissed, tugging at her chains. Inochi idly slammed her head into the table, Ibiki pausing in his writing to wait for the vibrations to stop.

"I'm sure you've noticed that when you step outside of your boundaries, Inochi-san will discipline you accordingly," he stated, flipping a page and continuing to write. "Do you understand this?"

"Yes, I understand," Sakura gritted out as she was yanked back up to sit straight again. Her forehead throbbed but she knew that she would live. Inochi hadn't slammed her into the table hard enough to do any damage outside of the throbbing of her head.

"Good. Now, you answer our questions and you go to a nice cell with a window, normal meals and can actually see your parents," Ibiki told her, putting his pen down and lacing his fingers together before him.

"I'm so glad that you learned so fast. Others said you wouldn't learn so fast," Inochi drawled, patting her head before pulling out a small bottle of water. "Open up." Pouring a bit of water into Sakura's open mouth, he took up a position near her as Ibiki started his interrogation.

"Now, why did Danzo help you escape the first time?" he asked, gazing at her.

"I have no idea. He came to me and said I would be of use to against some people," she said, glaring at him as she tugged lightly on the chains wrapped around a wrist. A sharp sting on her arms was her reward, making her cry out and look at Inochi. The mental nin held a switch in his hand, a long tray attached to the wall holding several other items.

"I see," Ibiki hummed, writing down what she had told him. "Where did he take you once you were out?"

"He took me to one of his bases. It was found after we left apparently," she said, eyeing Inochi as he placed the switch down and pulled the tray out of the wall a bit more.

"Do you know any of his people?" Ibiki asked, smirking as she shook her head.

"He didn't trust me to know anyone without masks. They were blank with stripes on them. Depending on how many stripes and what color they are, they tell you what their station and specialty they are," she said, swallowing and tearing her eyes away from Inochi as he nearly fondled a sharp knife.

"I see," Ibiki chuckled. "I'm sure you know where his bases are. From what I know of you, you would have learned whatever you could as insurance."

"No, I don't know," she replied, Ibiki's smile becoming razor sharp. Two sharp cracks preceded the pained and surprised cry as she stared at her newly broken and reset finger.

"Now, I seemed to have forgotten to mention the punishment for every lie. You have 9 more lies to go before we pull out actual instruments to use for every lie," Ibiki stated, watching as she bit her bottom lip. "Now, do you know any bases?" he asked. Several denials and false answers later, and they had finally broken her enough for her to show her true face. Every word was the truth, but it was snarled and twisted.

Once they got the answer they wanted, they had a medic fix the breaks into place along with her new bruises and cuts. Stepping out of Sakura's new cell, Ibiki rubbed at his head as Inochi wiped his hands off.

"So?" the large man asked.

"She's bat shit insane. Psychopathic, possibly sociopathic," Inochi sighed, Ibiki nodding before they left to file their reports.

Chapter 37

Landing on a roof, Parrot gazed at the innocent looking building that stood before him and several other masked ANBUs as they landed next to him before a familiar black clad nin dropped down next to him, radiating smugness.

"So, Night owl," Parrot drawled, getting a long look from him, "you have everything set up right?"

"Of course I have everything set up," he stated, pulling his mask up and exposing just who had been spying on Danzo. Genma smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.

"How did you really get out of sleeping with the old man?" Deer asked suddenly, coming to stand next to Sparrow and Snake.

"I had one of the younger nins who's built about my size sleep with him. The guy is nuts for Danzo, completely nuts, but was willing to learn how to be me in the bed to get fucked by him," Genma admitted, shrugging. "He doesn't know the difference between us."

"You are rather unique in bed," Snake drawled, Genma throwing him a leer.

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that. Wanna go have a round again after this?" he asked.

"Come out of this in one piece and we'll do that," Snake hummed, turning his masked face away.

"Come on, let's do this. That means you have to stop flirting because the others are waiting for our signal," Sparrow chuckled. Everyone nodded and disappeared to do their jobs, small explosions suddenly rocking the building as ROOT nins started to flee from the collapsing buildings and tunnels. Fights were quick to break out as Jonins and ANBU moved to subdue or kill their targets. The main group disappeared into the building they wanted, Genma leading them through the halls, leaving the sounds of yells of pain, fists hitting flesh and bodies falling to the ground with heavy thuds behind.

"Night! You bitch traitor," a voice screeched, attacking the hidden nin, forcing him to jump out of the way, bouncing off of one wall with a twist.

"Go on you guys. You know where to head to," Genma told them, pulling a short sword free from its seal and meeting the slice of a long katana with a loud, echoing clang. The katana was wielded by a man who looked a lot like Genma, except for the cold blue eyes that sparkled with madness.

"Move," Sparrow commanded as another explosion rocked the building. As they went down the halls that twisted and turned in dizzying ways, they were quick to either subdue or kill those nins that they came across or attacked them. By the time they were at the door that they did want, they were covered in blood, not all of it their own. "Snake, you are with me. Wolf, Deer, Parrot, spread out and look for any ROOT nins that are lurking around. Remember, subdue if you can do so," he stated, moves smooth and pure. Katana, the sound of the move smooth and pure, singing for blood.

"Yes, sir," the three snapped in attention before heading down the halls. Looking at Snake, Sparrow nodded his head before they opened the door, both men ready to attack or be attacked.

The groan of pain and the scent of blood, dust and explosives was not what they had been expecting. Staring at the half ruined room, Sparrow and Snake stared at the pile of rubble that Danzo had apparently been unable to miss, catching part of his body under it. Looking, Sparrow spotted a hand and shifted his body into a more relaxed stated, shaking his head.

"I think someone wanted Danzo dead just as much as us," he said, pointing to the hand. "It almost seems anti-climatic," he drawled, stepping further into the room, sending a pulse of chakra through the room to make sure that they hadn't accidentally stepped into a genjutsu.

"So it is," Snake snorted, poking at the moaning body before checking the arm, giving it a tug and pulling a young girl from the rubble, her eyes glassy in death and blood trickling from a red tinged mouth. "She's dead and I don't think that's he going to last long enough to be questioned."

"No matter. His autopsy will tell us more, along with any notes that we find," Sparrow said, "along with the rest of the bodies. See if you can't find out what he was doing with that girl would you?" he asked, Snake pulling the young body out. Most of her bones were broken and her body heavily bruised, telling them that she had lived for at least a few moments after being buried.

"She only has a few markings, so she was a new recruit. From what Night Owl told us, he would put the marks on himself, occasionally sleep with the one he was doing it to to really seal them down," Snake hummed. "And you're right about the autopsies. Think Night Owl is done with his attacker?" he asked, moving to lean against the desk as the sounds of the fights slowly filtered down to their ears.

"Probably. And we've probably lost more men," Sparrow replied, both of them frowning at the thought of it. "An unfortunate part of our lives I suppose." The two let themselves mourn those they were losing and those who would never work as an ANBU due to injuries if they weren't careful.

"So, is he dead yet?" Snake asked, both looking down at the man, eyebrows cocking at Danzo's body. A moan was their answer though it was low enough to tell them that he was almost dead.

"Just about," Sparrow drawled, wiping a bit of blood from his mask. "Another minute or so of bleeding out will do."

"Good. I want to get laid," Snake stated, looking at his friend and boss.

"How in the world did you two get in bed together?" Sparrow asked, staring at his friend.

"We got bored when he came back and decided to fuck around," Genma drawled from the doorway, mask shoved to the side as he limped into the room. Snake stood straight, Genma waving him off so he could sit comfortably in the only chair that had escaped the fall of rubble. "Fucker threw me into a wall after body slamming me," he said.

The three steadied themselves as a larger explosion rocked the building, the sound of fighting soon dying off. A white clad medic was quick to step into the room, looking around with a frown on his lips before settling his gaze on the three standing or sitting.

"The mission is done, Sparrow-san," he stated, coming in further to check on Danzo's silent body. Leaving the dead man once he had proclaimed the time of death, he moved to the other three, treating Sparrow and Snake's minor wounds before turning to Genma.

"Casualties?" Sparrow asked, crossing his arms as the medic poked and prodded at Genma's back.

"Very few on our side. About 6 ANBU, 3 jonin. Most of the ROOT nins were killed, but a few were caught alive," he said, Sparrow nodding his head.

"Are they being moved to the ANBU holding cells?" Snake asked as they watched the nin smooth bruise cream over Genma's back, his hands glowing as he heated the cream.

"Yes, sir. Ibiki is repairing the rooms to question them as the bodies are transported. The seal workers almost have the seal figured out," was the reply.

"I'm sure the information we find will help quite a bit," Genma said, waving a scroll around with a smirk. "The good thing about getting in under his skin was knowing where everything was hidden. This pretty baby was always sealed in a drawer near him and when he died, the drawer just happened to pop open," he told them, pointing at said drawer.

"I wonder what ever else has popped open," Snake drawled, smirk evident in his voice.

"Looks like we're having to go back to the other bases," Sparrow said as Wolf stepped inside of the room, one arm heavily bandaged, as a retrieval team moved to collect the bodies from the rubble.

"Ibiki-san sent a note saying that those involved with the fight are to fall back and let a new wave of ANBU do clean up," he said, the three nodding.

Meeting up with Parrot and Deer, they headed for headquarters, Naruto greeting them with paper for their debriefing. The young man's eyes kept turning to one door, waiting for Ibiki to come out of it. Writing out their reports and answering the needed questions, they were soon told that as long as the medics cleared them, they were free for the time.

Snake and Genma disappeared while Parrot left after a bit to check in with his lovers and Deer strolled off, almost bored like, leaving Sparrow to sit with Naruto.

"So, he's working hard?" Sparrow asked.

"Yes, I have a feeling I'm not getting any sleep tonight," Naruto purred, his friend groaning and shaking his head as the other smirked, ears flicking.

Chapter 38

Poking at one ear just to watch it twitch, Sasuke snickered as Naruto batted at him, glaring at his friend.

"Stop that, would you?" he groused, letting Ibiki pull him close and nuzzle into his hair. "So, we're really gonna be able to finally talk with her?" he asked his lover, tilting his head up to gaze at the large man.

"Yes, you'll be able to talk with her. We have all of the needed information that she had and she's fully healed now," Ibiki said, pressing a kiss to his head.

"It's been a long time coming," Sasuke drawled as he shifted. "Mi-chan is cooking up a storm for dinner tomorrow by the way. I don't think I've ever seen so much in our refrigerators," he told the couple, talking about the engagement party for the two.

"She's sweet for throwing the party, especially with only a few weeks of notice, on top of your own engagement party and wedding," Naruto said softly, getting a fond 'you idiot' look from Sasuke

"She damn near has our wedding completely planned and set up already," Sasuke drawled, shrugging with a smile. "It gives her something to do when she's not working."

"That reminds me, when is her surgery supposed to happen?" Naruto asked.

"As soon as we get back from our honeymoon," Sasuke replied, the three of them turning to Ibiki's office door as Deer opened the door, standing there with a bored stance.

"She's in the interrogation room waiting for you guys," he told them before leaving, the door closing slowly behind him. Naruto looked at Ibiki and Sasuke before standing up from the couch, pulling his fiancé up with him.

"Come on, let's do this," Sasuke huffed, hauling himself off of his chair, shoving his hands into his pockets. Naruto eyed him with a smile dancing on his lips.

"What, trying to mimic Shikamaru and his laziness?" he asked, hooking his arm through Ibiki's as they left.

"Funny, really," Sasuke drawled back, lip curling. "You two better be on time for your own engagement dinner. If I have to drag you there, I will."

"We'll be there, Sasuke-san, no worries. I won't even let my dear fiancé distract me from what I need to do," Ibiki promised, Naruto blinking innocently up at him. "Don't give me that look. You like to tease me all the time, so no innocent look."

"Not my fault you look delightful interrogating all of those ROOT nins," Naruto cooed, Ibiki's arm wrapping around his waist and squeezing him.

"Behave," Ibiki growled, Sasuke gagging next to them as they made their way to the room. Naruto reached over and swiped at his friend, unsurprised when he dodged out of the way.

"Shut up. I don't complain when you get kissy faced with your fiancé," he said, sticking his tongue out at his friend.

"That's because you never see me get kissy faced with her," came the retort.

"You get…fluffy, as much as it pains me to say it," Ibiki said, the two younger men looking at him with some surprise. "I can say the word fluffy if the occasion calls for it," he stated.

"The first time I heard him say fluffy, cuddle and puppy was the first time I locked myself in my room and drank myself unconscious," Itachi said, leaning against the wall next to the interrogation room door. He was dressed as a regular nin, arms crossed, hair pulled back and looking smug about something.

"You got laid. Again," Sasuke snorted, making his brother smirk and push away from the wall. "Next time you plan on getting happy, can you please send a note so my soon to be wife can make sure your dinner is put away so you can eat it the next day?" he asked as he, Naruto and Itachi stepped into the room, Sakura looking up from the table she was chained to.

"Sasuke-kun," she breathed, eyes wide as Sasuke and Naruto sat down before her. Ibiki closed the door behind them, leaving Itachi to lean against a wall, arms crossing once more. "I wasn't expecting to see you again," Sakura said, smoothing her hair down. The pink locks were longer than they had been at one time; pulled back by a hair tie, exposing the chakra binding neck cuff she had to wear outside of her cell.

"We decided to come by and update you on what has been going on since you were brought in" Sasuke drawled, sitting back in his chair.

"You see, my ears are permanent, no thanks to you, but luckily, not genetic," Naruto told her, leaning forward on the table. Green eyes looked at him, glaring as he smiled sweetly at her. "Apparently my ears and tail are so cute that I have a long list of surrogates that are willing to give me and Ibiki babies. Tsunade is also really close to figuring out how to combine our genetics so we can have babies that are both of ours."

"Freak," Sakura snarled before cringing when Itachi shifted against the wall.

"Not really actually. Neji-kun, Iruka-san and Kakashi-sensi are looking forward to the jump so that they can have lots of children themselves," Sasuke said.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, lots of same sex couples want children that are theirs," Sasuke mused, shrugging one shoulder. "Ah, we should tell her about Danzo and what happened to the ROOT bases," he said, looking to Naruto, who smiled brightly.

"We should," Naruto said, the two sharing smug smiles.

"What about Danzo and ROOT?" Sakura asked, cocking an eyebrow as her eyes narrowed at them, darting back and forth between the two friends.

"Oh, he's dead. His body is in the morgue, autopsied and waiting to be cremated before being used as fertilizer," Naruto cooed at the pink haired woman.

"How?" she hissed, leaning forward, her chains rattling. Naruto idly mused that her glare looked mildly constipated, making him snicker quietly.

"From what we were told: death by rubble aided by one of his new recruits," Sasuke replied, somehow keeping his voice even as he looked to Itachi who just gave him a vaguely interested look.

"I don't believe you," Sakura growled, the two friends shrugging with smiles on their faces.

"Don't. We have no reason to lie to you," Sasuke told her, looking to his friend. "You wanna tell her about our news?" he asked.

"Sure, why not?" Naruto chirped, playing with a ring on his left ring finger, the band a simple white gold. "I know it's dangerous to wear a ring, but Ibiki had it done with special runes to hide on my missions. My bond ring will connect with this one. Sasuke bought one for his fiancé to."

"She loves it too. Of course, Naruto is getting bonded before I get married, the pain," Sasuke snorted, getting a smug look from his friend. "But it gives Mi-chan the chance to do something beyond plot our wedding and honeymoon."

"Let me tell ya, I'm beyond happy to have Mi-chan doing this for me and 'Biki," Naruto chuckled. Looking to Sakura, he had to laugh at her face. She looked almost as if she had swallowed a lemon, her lips puckered and eyes wide.

"I'll tell her when I go home again," Sasuke promised.

"So, wanna tell her what she's going to be doing for the rest of her life?" Naruto asked.

"What about me?" Sakura asked, her face becoming nervous as her hands clenched the chains around her wrists.

"Well," Sasuke purred, "you won't be seeing the outside of a cell for a very long time, if ever." Standing up, Naruto and Sasuke snickered as they left the room and her as she gaped after them.

Chapter 39

The sky was clear beyond a few thin, white clouds as it floated past, and the villagers were busy with preparations for the celebration of a high clan bonding, the first in many years. Ibiki was rolling his eyes as he pulled his bonding kimono on, smoothing the layers down as Kakashi read his book nearby. The perverted man was wearing a basic kimono that alternated between grey and a medium blue in its own layers, a wolf prowling down his back.

Ibiki's own kimono was an off white with blue accents, the color and style looking right on him, despite his initial misgivings. He had a matching skull cap that he slid on after securing his kimono. Pulling on his foot wear, he took a seat and leant back as Itachi, looking good in an Uchiha blue kimono, smacked the back of Kakashi's head.

It had been a month since Danzo had been killed by rubble and ROOT taken down completely and the bodies had been autopsied. The information collected from them had amazed everyone with how the seals had affected the body of the one that they had been applied to. It had closed the throat just right to cut off the voice should the one wearing it have tried to talk but not close off the air way. Danzo had been very good at making a seal to keep them quiet.

They had removed the seal once they had figured out how it worked from the ROOT nins and had ended up with enough information to put all of the sealed records into their own room. Several ROOT nins had been found to have been forced into the ranks and were under heavy watch for the time being in a compound on ANBU land. Some were talking about retiring from working as a nin and instead work to supply and help the Shinobi force so they could have more nin friendly places to buy things and find rest.

Tsunade loved the ideas, but had told them flat out that they would still be watched, even when they left the village for whatever reason. None of them had cared; they had just wanted to be free for once.

Sakura had sneered any time she had seen Ibiki and had lost many of her privileges with how many times she had insulted him, an ANBU or Naruto. She had learned fast not to do either around anyone, or at least not aloud after that first week. She had screeched when Anko had shown her their bonding invitation though, annoying several ANBU who had been in hearing distance. She had lost her book and scroll privileges after she had just gotten them back.

"Come on, it's time to get married." Itachi's voice broke through his musings, making Ibiki blink and look at him before standing up.

"Right, let's go," Ibiki drawled, the two men leading the way. In front of the spot where Tsunade would stand, Sasuke stood on Naruto's side, dressed in a kimono that matched his brother, standing as his friend's witness.

"Ibiki-san," Sauske drawled in greeting, getting a nod from him. "So, finally huh?" he asked as they waited for the last of the guests to arrive.

"Yeah, finally," Ibiki growled, giving Sasuke a glare before smirking. "Though it would have been earlier if your lovely fiancé hadn't somehow convinced my lover to plan this elaborate thing," he stated, Sasuke shrugging with a smile.

"Like you, I can't say no to my better half when she either threatens me with the couch or flashes me the puppy eyes," Sasuke drawled, eyes narrowing when Ibiki smiled smugly.

"I have yet to be threatened with the couch and I know for a fact that you were threatened with it within a week of moving her into your home," he stated, Sasuke pouting as Itachi and Kakashi both snickered from behind him.

"I wonder how Naruto even deals with you," Sasuke complained, crossing his arms and glaring at his brother.

"I make him scream. Every single night, loudly and for a very long time," Ibiki retorted as Neji and Iruka walked up in matching blue kimonos. It seemed that the witnesses for Naruto had agreed to wear the same color for the wedding.

"I did not need to know that about my brother's love life," Iruka stated, Tsunade walking up to her spot, dressed in her official Hokage robes, minus the hat.

"I don't think any of us want to know that, Iruka-kun," Tsunade snorted, shaking her head.

"Blame Sasuke for leaving himself wide open for that line," Ibiki stated, smirking at the scowling Uchiha.

"Leave me out of this," Sasuke snorted before looking over the crowd, seeing that everyone that had been invited had arrived. "I think that the ceremony is going to start soon."

"That's why I came out here," Tsunade told them as the doors closed and another set of doors opened and Nartuo walked out, holding the arm of Jiraya.

Naruto was being walked down the aisle only for the fact that he was the younger of the two men and had agreed to an old time bonding contract, trusting Ibiki with their personal life. He wanted to not have to worry about anything outside of keeping the house and his missions. It worked for them and their life.

Smiling softly, Ibiki ran his eyes over his soon to be husband's kimono, taking in the beautiful design. It was simple and even more beautiful for it. It was a soft cream color with blue petals that fell down the arms and back of the kimono, reminding him of their favorite tree that they usually rested under after a spar. It also made him wonder what was under the layers of silk that covered his lover's body.

Taking Naruto's hand as he was handed over by Jiraya, Ibki nodded in respect to the toad sannin before smiling down at his lover. Getting a shyly happy smile, they turned to Tsunade who started the ceremony.

"Welcome to the bonding of Ibiki and Naruto, two of our best Shinobi and our best of friends…"

After her speech, they exchanged vows and then their simple, platinum rings with special seals that would render them invisible with a shot of chakra and shared a kiss that left Naruto breathless. Leaving the meeting room turned bonding room, they headed to Ibiki's estate for the reception. The front yard had a mix of blankets and tables for the guests, the newlywed couple taking a blanket for themselves with some of Naruto's closet friends.

Cold and hot food was spread out over three extremely long and wide tables, the cake and matching smaller cakes taking over a fourth table next to them. The drinks were sitting in ice, pitchers or bowls on a fifth table with a couple of bartenders from the usual Shinobi haunts. The cakes had been cut into, showing that some were vanilla and others were chocolate frosted by chocolate or vanilla buttercream frosting. The decorations that sat on them were the tools of their trade made out of fondant.

All around, everyone had to agree that Choji and his family outdid themselves on the food and Ino did wonderfully on the decorations as the paper lanterns lit up as the sun set.

"Are you happy?" Ibiki asked, brushing his lips over one twitching ear as Naruto sipped at his warm tea.

"Beyond happy, 'Biki," Naruto replied, smiling up at his husband, blue eyes sparkling up at him. "Thank you for everything, really. Love you."

"I love you too, brat," Ibiki chuckled, brushing their lips together. The round of cat calls, whistles and clapping drew them out of their kiss, Naruto blushing brightly at being caught kissing his lover.

Chapter 40

Closing the door behind the last of the wedding guests, Naruto leant against it and chuckled lowly at his sprawled out husband. Ibiki had taken over the couch the moment that Iruka, Kakashi and Neji had headed for the door after helping Naruto clean up the leftovers and the furniture. Shaking his head, he pushed away from the door to pad into the kitchen.

Picking up a platter of finger foods, both them wanting to eat since it had been nearly two hours since they had cut the cake, he smiled at his husband before heading up the stairs.

Ibiki was quick to take to his feet and follow after, looking forward to his wedding night and being able to consummate his marriage with his lover. Stepping into their bedroom, he had to smile at the way their things blended so nicely, even as his eyes turned to where Naruto was slowly removing his wedding kimono layers and placing them into a specially designed trunk.

"Going to wear something special for me?" Ibiki asked, removing his own wedding kimono and placing it with Naruto's.

"Maybe," Naruto chuckled as he placed the last layer into the box, pulling on a dark green yukuta, making Ibiki smile at his husband.

"You look good in that," Ibiki said, drawing Naruto into his arms for a hug before the fox pushed him away with a smile. Pulling on his own yukuta, he sat down and once more drew his husband back into his arms once more. "I'm glad that we were able to come together, despite the way it happened," he told the small male in his arms.

"Showing your inner marshmallow there, 'Biki," Naruto chuckled with a teasing smile. "I'm glad to."

"Only you get to see my inner marshmallow, as you insist upon calling it," Ibiki grumbled, picking up a piece of melon and feeding it tot eh smaller man. Nuzzling into the fragrant skin of Naruto's neck, he groaned lowly as his fingers were suckled on, sending heat to his length that was hardening under Naruto's ass.

"Is that a pen or are you just happy to see me?" Naruto asked, voice purring as Ibiki chuckled lowly in return.

"I'm always happy to see you, especially when this tail of yours decides to wave back and forth over your sweet little ass," Ibiki growled into one ear, feeling it twitch as Naruto moaned and melted under the words.

"I swear you're a puppy under that tough exterior. A really, really horny puppy," Naruto groaned, eyes closing as he shivered hard and bit his bottom lip. Ibiki laughed lowly and fed his lover another bite of food, Naruto nibbling on his fingers with a mewl.

"Your horny dog though," Ibiki said, sliding his other hand up one lean thigh, cupping his hip and stroking his skin. Naruto sighed and shifted to brush their lips together, deepening it slowly, tasting and being tasted as hands found skin well mapped before.

Standing up, the scarred man got Naruto to wrap his legs around his waist, Ibiki walked over to their bed, breaking their kiss as they tumbled back onto it. Smirking at the dazed expression on the whiskered face, he loosened the belt that held the yukuta closed and spread it open. Lowering himself, he nipped at a caramel nipple before soothing it with licks and suck.

Moving lower, he teased his way down over heaving ribs and stomach muscles that trembled under his teasing touch. His hands smoothed over strong legs, convincing them to open a bit more, putting one over his shoulder so he could tease the inner thigh, getting a moan. Nipping at the skin he found, Ibiki grabbed their bottle of lube and flicked it open to slick his fingers and hand.

"Naruto," Ibiki growled, looking up as the sounds that his husband was making became begging as he bowed upwards. "Calm down, my fox," he breathed, teasing Naruto's entrance with a slick finger. The low moan of relief filled his ears as he pressed his finger inwards, music to his ears, the muscles around the digit relaxing easily.

Sitting up on his knees, Ibiki smirked as he worked his finger into the sweet body, Naruto rocking and moving in time with his movements. Moving his finger in deeper, he added a second finger and waited until Naruto relaxed again, letting his fingers move easily. Stroking them in and out of the writhing body, his prick hard and twitching, Ibiki spread his fingers open as he pulled them out, curling when they were buried deep inside of him.

Naruto arched, hands tangled in the bed sheets, moaning long and low as his legs quivered, pulling his hips into the touches and stretching. Ibiki worked a third finger into the clenching body, curling them and stroking the tight bud of nerves that sent the body before him wild with pleasure.

"Ibiki," Naruto whined, eyes wide as he twitched and slowly came down from the sudden pleasure high. "Now, damn it, now."

"Pushy, pushy," Ibiki chuckled, crooking his fingers again as he spread them apart. "So, now?" he asked, getting a mewling moan, thin hips rolling upwards. "I'll take that as a yes."

With his fingers sliding out, Ibiki removed his yukuta, Naruto gazing up at him with dazed eyes. Smirking, he slicked his length and pressed against the stretched entrance before pushing inwards, both of them moaning. Only giving both of them a moment to adjust, he started to move in and out, thrusting hard into his mate, much to the fox's pleasure.

Moving with each thrust, body rolling and shivering, Naruto moaned as he wrapped his legs high around Ibiki's waist in an attempt to draw him deeper. The scarred man shifted and started to take his lover harder, leaving fresh bruises on Naruto's thighs as he curled his hand around the leaking prick bouncing between them and stroking in time with his thrusts.

Naruto groaned before going stiff, a scream escaped him as his body jerked and he spilled between them. A roar of pleasure filled the air around them as Ibiki tensed and came, following after his lover, his cock twitching in the fluttering entrance. Going limp, he moaned as he laid out over Naruto, holding him close as the younger male clung to him, whimpering in the aftershocks.

Finally moving, Ibiki pulled out of the lean body and laid to the side, pulling Naruto close, running his hand down the slim back. Naruto sighed lowly and pressed closer to his husband, a smile dancing over his lips as he relaxed.

"So, husband dearest, how was your first night as a married man?" Naruto asked, his voice drowsy.

"It was perfect, my little fox. Utterly, completely perfect.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: Ibiki/Naruto

Word count: 1,021

AN: _Ah, another chapter from me and I'm quiet happy with how this chapter has turned out. :3 I'm very proud, despite the fact that the chapters decided to take a walk on the off side. _

_Okay, to note, I type up chapters in a rotating way. One, one shot that I have written, then a chapter of Finding a Bit of Trust and then a chapter of A Shifting of Life. Between them, I'm editing A Butterfly's Dream and working on A Butterfly's Dance. I'm also planning out a few stories, one is a Bleach/X-Men AU Cross over, a chapter of The Truth Behind His Life, one is a Tokyo Drift story with the flavor of the other movies, an Inuyasha series that first has Inuyasha/Miroku and then in the sequel has a crossover between Yu Yu Hakusho, and Inuyasha and a series of stories based on favored songs. Outside of the three stories that are being posted, NONE of the others will be published until I'm finished with them and they've been edited._

_Okay, so you see what I have on my plate. *nods* *noms*_

_A quick note: This is a day late. Yesterday found me being sick to my stomach. It was not a fun time. Sorry people!_

Chapters edited and reposted: 11/11

* * *

Waving after Kurenai and her team as they finally left, Naruto sighed and shut the door behind him leaning on it with a distinctive thud, moaning softly and ignoring the snicker that came from Ibiki as the man leant back in his seat..

"Shove it. I want to see you try to deal with Kurenai who is in full 'cute' mode," Naruto snorted, moving away from the door and flopping back into his chair, running a hand through his hair. "I swear that my ears would be petted off or something with the way she was looking at me like that."

"You poor thing," Ibiki hummed, smirk dancing on his lips, shaking his head at the pout forming on the blonds lips. The pout made him think things better thought when he was alone, in his bedroom, with silencing jutus all around him. And a bottle of lube the size of his head at hand.

"I think I fear women even more then I did before," Naruto moaned, letting his head drop back against the back of his chair. "Man and I still have to tell Asumas team and Kakashi-sensei, not to mention Iruka-sensei. That's going to be scary."

"Iruka-san is a scary, scary nin," Ibiki hummed, shaking his head.

"At least he'll be able to stop Kakashi from going pervy on me. Every since he read the Icha Icha that had a cat boy in it, he's been waiting to see me with a tail and ears, or even better to him, Iruka-sensei with ears and a tail," Naruto huffed, shaking his head with a slight smile. "I should also bug Yamamoto-sensei and tell him about the meeting."

"What is it with you and the mass amounts of senseis?" Ibiki laughed, watching Narutos eyes sparkle at him.

"I had a lot of learning and relearning of things. After all, the teachers before Iruka didn't want any thing to do with me and teaching me. I had to relearn writing, stances and a dozen other things that I needed to know to be a proper nin," Naruto explained, making Ibiki frown, not liking that fact. "Iruka-sensei taught me everything I needed to know and the others all helped me perfect other things. By the by, Tsunade-baa-chan has fixed the academy so that no child, no matter their skill level or their situation would ever be left behind."

"Sounds good to me," the bald man drawled, checking the time before standing. "Come on, let's get going. I want to get food and enjoy it without being bothered. We'll send out messenger birds to those we need to speak with and then we'll come back. Anko is working over Sakura again. She had a visitor under a very powerful jutsu that my ANBU couldn't see, or rather wouldn't have been able to see under," Ibiki said, getting a curious look from Naruto.

"Really?" the fox asked as they walked out of the office, the ANBUs that were standing around nodding from their spots in respect.

"Yeah. Sakura hasn't said anything on why the man visited outside of telling us that she didn't know him. Only one ANBU saw him and agrees with her," the interrogation expert told the small blond next to him, watching lightly furred ears twitch in annoyance.

"What about the cameras?" Naruto asked as they stepped into the sunlight, both men squinting slightly under the light.

"Something knocked the fucking sound out, so they're useless. Whoever it was, they knew what to expect and how to deal with it, including not showing their face to the cameras," was the growled response. Naruto patted on large arm in sympathy, knowing how it happened had hit at Ibikis ego and pride in the set up of the ANBU holding cells.

"You and the psycho will figure it out," the smaller male promised, smiling softly as they walked down the streets, his hood once more hiding Narutos ears. "Do you..." he started, trailing off and looking down at the ground, drawing a look of curiosity from his companion.

"Do I what?" Ibiki prompted, raising a non-existent eyebrow at the blond male.

"Not to sound like I want the world to revolve around me, but do you think that the meeting between this mystery man and Sakura was about me?" Naruto asked. The two lapsed into a silence as they walked into the more popular shinobi restaurant and bar, taking a seat at a booth that afforded privacy.

"There is a high possibility of that being the case. From Ankos report, Sakura looked almost as smug as she did when she first told Sasuke about why she did what she did to you," Ibiki finally said after the gave their waiter their orders and he had moved away from their table.

"That's not good," Naruto sighed, rubbing at his face with a groan. "As it is, I'm probably going to be off balance with the damn tail. I'm going to have to retrain myself while I hope that we can get rid of the damn things someday. On top of that, my own fucking teammate turns on me."

"That reminds me, you have to tell Sai-san to," Ibiki drawled, getting a moan as Naruto dropped his head onto the table.

"Oh man, just fuck me sideways," the blond muttered, making Ibikis mind drop straight into the gutter and the large man shift as he fought his natural response to the images.

"It won't be to bad, I hope," Ibiki replied, unsurprised at the glare his words got in return. "Let's eat for now. We'll worry about all of that later," he promised, getting a nod as Naruto sat up as their food arrived.

They sent off the messenger birds for the last people to be told, Naruto using one of his frog contracts to send a message to the clan council to set up a meeting when they had time in their busy schedules. The two didn't speak about Sakura, the mystery man or what the future held for the rest of their lunch, but never once ran out of things to talk about.


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 12

Characters: Various

Word count: 1,060

AN: Ahh! People you are so loving and willing to wait for me! For those of you who watch me (just me and not a particular story), you will notice that I was updating Tales of a Broken Society, which is a collection of Bleach one shots. I have finished updating those, finally, and I'm quite happy with that, especially since my gallbladder surgery had made me fall behind.

Now, a very important note: I will be updating this story and A Shifting of Life in a rotating fashion. One week, I will post a chapter of Finding and the next, a chapter of Shifting. Why am I doing it like this? So I can work on future chapters since I'm actually 3 or 4 chapters AHEAD of what I'm actually posting right now. I want to keep it that way.

So, every two weeks, you will get a new chapter. No, I'm not going to change my mind on this. This way, I can get good chapters out and not stress my little mind out trying to keep up with my posting schedule. Thank you for understanding and staying by me!

* * *

"So, why do you suppose Naruto called us over here?" Choji asked, raising one eyebrow at the group around him. Shikamaru just snorted and shook his head as he leant back into the couch he was sitting on. Asuma shrugged as he watched Iruka scowl at Kakashi, who was buried in his book once more. Yamamoto was snickering to a sketching Sai while Ino grumbled about wanting to go home and pain in the ass, late blonds.

"I'm hardly late, Ino-chan," Naruto stated as he and Ibiki stepped inside of the office. "Ibiki-san and I were enjoying our breakfast and not being bothered by people."

"Why did you call us? This had better be important, Naruto, casue I want to go home," Ino said, crossing her arms as she watched her fellow blond take his sweet time in perching on Ibikis desk. Ibiki himself just sat behind said desk and sat back in his chair.

"Do I ever call a meeting without having a good reason?" Naruto asked as he settled into his perch, coat sprawling around him on the desk.

"He's right. Sit down, Ino-chan. We all want to go home after last night but this must be important," Shikamaru drawled, bored and his eyes showing it.

"Yep, actually is," Naruto chirped, shrugging with a smile at the other male, getting a look from the lazy nin. "So, Sakura went over the deep end and did some human experimentation on me, which ended up taking my merged chakra and giving it physical form." Tugging his hood down, the blond felt his ears twitch before enjoying the reactions of the ones around him.

Asuma choked on the drag of cigarette he had in his lugs, eyes watching as he bent over, staring at the twitching ears. Chojis eyes widen at the sight and the chip he was about to eat fell to his lap, fingers limp. Shikamaru looked like he had some life to him, body nearly vibrating as he leant forward to get a better look.

Sai was stock still, unblinking as his pencil twitched, mind whirling with possible ways of getting Naruto into his studio, wondering what else was different about his teammate. Iruka was in full fuss mode, smoothing down the blond hair, fussing with the fur that lightly covered the ears and making sure that his little brother was mentally and physically okay.

Ino was cooing softly, trying to walk over to the blond, Shikamaru rousing out of his shocked, or rather excited, state to grab onto her waist and pull her back down onto the couch. Yamamoto was blushing very slightly and not looking at Naruto, or trying not to, stealing looks occasionally. Kakakashi , as his blond student had predicted, was perving out over him, eyes sparkling brightly at his mind conjured up images of a puppy eared Iruka hugging a dew eyed fox eared Naruto as they sent pleading looks to him…

A well placed flare of killer intent knocked everyone but Naruto and Iruka out of their various states, making their eyes turn to a smug looking Ibiki.

"Now that we all know, I need to ask you guys if you've noticed or seen Sakura acting strange lately," the bald interrogator said as Naruto moved to a couch with Iruka and cuddle up to him.

"Nope. Don't really hang out with her outside of training and missions now days. I've been working on a new style of attack with an old jutsu," Sai drawled, pencil once more moving over the sketch pad before him, eyes dancing up to Naruto and Iruka before turning back to his pad.

"She's been following Sasuke around again, but that's been the normal thing with her since he's come back," Kakashi drawled, eye narrowing. "I've also seen her glare at Naruto for no apparently reason, but again, that seems to be normal," he finished almost musingly.

"I don't know her well enough to really say anything about her, but like Sai, I haven't really seen her except during training and missions with Team 7," Yamamoto mused.

"Outside of Ino, my team doesn't' really interact with her," Asuma mused, lighting a fresh cigarette before quickly killing it when Naruto sneezed several times in a row. "Sorry, forgot the smoke annoys you," he apologized, clearing his throat and opening the office window.

"I've been training with my dad to learn some new mind techniques but I have hung out with her a few times in the last few months," Ino hummed, pale blue eyes narrowing as she thought.

"No one else in the other teams really noticed anything outside of her new disdain for hanging out in groups of more then a few people," Naruto said, basking under the long fingered hand that was playing with his hair.

"She's missed the lectures that she had promised to do at the academy for those students looking to the medical side of a nins life," Iruka added, frowning lightly as he remembered how hard it was to get a hold of her after finding that she had skipped out entirely.

"Sounds like something triggered her to go back to her old personality, including her old dislikes and obsessions, but much stronger then before," Shikamaru drawled, leaning back against the back of the couch, head resting on the cushions, eyebrows drawn together. "She knows about the Kyuubi…but does she know about how much contact you have with him?" he asked, cracking on eye open to gaze at Naruto.

"I don't know. I have to talk with him to make sure nothing is wrong with him, much less the seat, but I do talk with him just because. He's smart and has helped me learn a lot about how a mind works," the blond hummed, frowning slightly before laying his head onto Irukas shoulder.

"If all of you can write out reports about her and what you can remember from the last year, I would appreciate it," Ibiki said as Naruto relaxed again. "The trial will start in about a week and a half. During this time, Naruto will stay with me, tell the clan leaders what has happened, go to Tsunade-sama for tests and my ANBU will continue to go through her notes and papers," he continued, getting nods from everyone and a troublesome from Shikamaru, getting a quiet laugh from Naruto.


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 13

Word count: 642

AN: Oh boy, does this really take you for a twist right? Didn't think she would take up the offer, did you! Ha! See! I have a plan! I'm just slow in getting there. Enjoy this little bite sized morsel and tune in next time. I go back to listening to Dance with the Devil.

By the by, you guys were almost screwed out of this weeks update! My harddrive went a bit nuts back on Monday and I had to do a reformat. Seriously. It almost didn't happen. I'm not joking you. So, after fighting with the programs that I needed, I'm back just in time to post this.

So…yeah. Doing commissions so I can get a new harddrive (external since that's what I can get) just in case mine takes a permanent nose drive. PM me if you're interested. :3

* * *

Telling Naruto to go on out later that evening, Ibiki watched the small fox smile and leave with Iruka, before turning to the window where a cloudy sky was pressing against the glass. His mind was busy, distracted from the work that waited for him to finally get to it. So far, Narutos friends seemed rather accepting, if not very surprised that Sakura had done such a thing to Naruto. Which said a lot to Ibiki about her mental state in at least the last six months, making him wonder why reports of worry had never cross his or The Hokages desk during that time either.

An ANBU in a snake mask knocked on the door, interrupting his thoughts, and stepped in, holding a single file box in his hands.

"Sir, we found some evidence that Sakura has been messing with filed complaints about her and a couple of others, including ones that were attached to mission reports," Snake said, freezing at the dark look that passed over Ibikis face.

"Who were they from?" Ibiki asked, voice cold as Snake stood rigid before his desk.

"Shikamaru, Naruto, Sasuke mostly," he replied, looking down. "At least from the cursory glance through," he continued, getting a sharp nod.

"Put them here. I'll go through them later. Tell the day shift to write up what they have found out, put the things aside and leave," Ibiki ordered. Nodding his head, Snake put the box down and went to leave to fulfill his new orders. He knew that night shift would arrive soon and pick up where they left off.

Opening the box, Ibiki was unsurprised to find it filled with complaint forms, most of them from those she worked with often enough, and very few coming from Sai and Ino, two of the four she worked with the most supposedly. Shuffling through them, he found that they were mostly complaints about her going on sudden and rather violent rants when ever her authority was questioned or she had to do menial labor work.

It looked as if he was going to have to speak with Shizune and others at the Shinobi hospital soon. Writing down that note, along with one to speak with Tsunade, the interrogation expect looked out the window once more, finding that the clouds had gotten over even heavier, making the outside world seem more like dusk then late afternoon. The buildings that sat over the land of the ANBU complex was dark, windows non-existent. But the buildings that created the rest of the village was shining bright, almost outshining the left over light that broke through the clouds. The sight helped to sooth his frazzled nerves that had been strung out since the moment he had been called to work the investigation.

His peace was shattered when Anko burst into his office looking rather ruffled, in quite a bit of pain and pissed enough to kill someone very slowly.

"The little bitch somehow got out!" Anko screeched, a medic nin fussing by her side, looking as if he had been trying to help the snake mistress since she had left the holding cells.

Standing up from his chair, Ibiki ordered her to get fixed before moving to figure out how Sakura had gotten out.

By the time that Ibiki got home, Naruto had cleaned his home, top to bottom, made their lunches for the next day and was out on his couch, a book on about seals lying under his hand on the floor. Feeling the day melt away, Ibiki say down on the chair next to the couch and watched the small male sleep, deciding to wait until the next day to tell Naruto about Sakuras escape with some ones help. H e looked to peaceful at the moment to tell him that once more his life was in danger.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Chapter: 14

Characters: Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, OFC

Word count: 1,162

AN: Okay, so this chapter is a day late. I am sorry about that but I do have a reason as to why it's late. My mother ended up in the early Thrusday I think. I really am sorry for the delay but I was more worried about my mother then my posting update. So, without further ado! Enjoy the chapter.

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A week later found Naruto pouting on the ground, eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath as Sasuke muttered curses and Hinata dabbed at his cuts with an alcohol soaked cotton ball.

"At least we know your stamina and chakra stores haven't changed any," Sasuke drawled, getting laughter from his companions. "So, what have they said about what the pink pain in the ass did?" he asked curiously.

"What she did to me, or about her breakout?" Naruto asked in return as he sat up and stretched his arms over his head as Hinata put the first aid kit aside.

"You first, escape second," the darker male drawled as he sat back. The soft sounds of footsteps announced the arrival of a pretty blond with cold bottles of water in her hands. "Hello, beautiful," Sasuke greeted, watching his fiancé blush lightly.

"Hello, you there. Sasuke, when you come home, please collect the rest of the mail? We have some unhappy people about our engagement," she said, getting a nod and smile from her fiancé before she left.

"You lucked out having such an understanding fiancé, especially since she's a civilian," Naruto hummed, sipping at his water as Saukes eyes and face softened.

"Yeah, I did. I'm very lucky and thank all of the Gods that I agreed to meet her when Itachi bugged me about it," the Uchiha hummed. "She told me that if she could have, she would have gone into the medical corps."

"What stopped her?" Hinata asked, curious about the civilian nurse.

"A weird ankle and knee. They tend to go out at sudden intervals so she needs to wear a brace. Tsunade-san is looking into a possible fix, but it'll be when I have enough vacation and enough 'mini missions' time saved up," Sasuke replied, feeling sad that his future wife's dream as a kunochi medic had been cut short. "But, she's absolutely amazing as a child's nurse and is looking at a promotion to head nurse at the hospital here soon."

"Man, if only she had been around when I had been a brat," Naruto sighed, falling backwards onto his back as Hinata perched on his stomach.

"Stop avoiding answering the questions," she scolded, poking his nose with a giggle, watching blue eyes cross.

"Well, since my ears are functional, they can't be removed, couldn't be anyways. They and my tail are like stores of chakra," Naruto said after a few moments of gazing at his friends. "Since they act like stores, the tail can't be removed either because of that."

"Oh, Naru-kun," Hinata sighed lowly, reaching down to scratch behind Narutos ears, giggling lightly at the rumble she got.

"So, we have to wait huh?" Sasuke drawled, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees. Playing with his water bottle, he let his mind mull over the problems that had hit his friend over his life time. It was almost as if the blond had a large sign on his back but the dark haired man knew that every time something went wrong with him, something else went right for him.

Sasuke hoped that the good would happen after such a nasty wrong.

"So, what about Sakura?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Naruto who was using Hinata like a teddy bear, not that she was complaining.

"We have no idea how the fuck she got out," Naruto snorted, getting smacked on the shoulder by their female companion.

"Language," she scolded.

"Yes, Hinata-chan," they chorused together, drawing a smile and a laugh from her.

"Anyways, there isn't any evidence as to who or what got her out but I have ANBU watching over me when I'm not with Ibiki or around a lot of my friends. All we know is that the collar that had held her had been frozen and snapped," Naruto continued, shrugging as he rested his head on Hinatas shoulder.

"Though, somehow, Hiashi-san found out about my new attachments and he's promised the Hyuuga-clans support," he mused as he idly playing with Hinatas long, dark hair thinking about how Hiashi could have found out. "I'm to see the rest of the clan heads sometime soon. Itachi-san will have to be there, but you probably won't have to be since you know already," he warned, getting a snort from his friend. Lifting his head, Naruto smiled lightly at his friend. "Come on, let's go eat. I smell something fried."

"Maybe Kimi made those odd blooming onion things," Hinata hummed, looking quite interested in that possibility. Sasuke shook his head with another snort as they stood up from the ground, Naruto starting to get up, eyes bouncy and just as interested.

"Come on. Let's go raid the kitchen under my fiancés ever so amused eyes," Sasuke drawled, getting a shy smile from Hinata and a knowing grin from Naruto.

"Your Kimi-chan is used to us by now. Though I fear what would happen if she tried to take over Ibikis kitchen. We would probably find out just how strong she can be," Naruto hummed, eyes glittering in amusement as Sasuke scowled.

"She already has Itachi playing good boy when he's home and I dare not make her unhappy," Sauske admitted. Shrugging slightly with a smirk, the dark haired man brushed his fingers through his hair. "Though I can't say I mind one tiny bit."

"You're in love," Naruto teased, Sasuke pushing at his head with his own smile.

"Come on! Food!" Hinata pouted, getting soft laughter from her friends as she dragged them towards the house.

Watching the three walk towards the main house, Sparrow sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. Muttering to himself, he followed discretely after them, watching over Naruto as he trained and figured out his body once more. The blond hadn't even told the village what had happened yet, seeing as there was no real reason to worry everyone just yet, especially since the pink haired bitch had gotten loose. Not that they knew how just yet, but it was looking to be an inside job.

So here he was, playing babysitter without the blonds knowledge on Ibikis command. Of course, if Naruto found out, that would be one fight that he would rather miss then watch.

Nodding to Itachi, the masked man perched on a tree limb as the three walked into the house, Kimi greeting them from the sounds of it.

"How are they?" Itachi asked quietly, gazing at the other man.

"Good. Naruto is gaining his balance once more, quite quickly to, which is good to see," Sparrow hummed, getting a curt nod.

"Has he shown how he feels about his new attachments?" Itachi asked. He looked from the window the he had been watching at the feeling of his companions amusement that rolled off of him.

"That's more of a question for Ibiki-san," Sparrow drawled before bounding off to a new tree, leaving the eldest Uchiha to his thoughts.


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Anko, Sparrow, Wolf (known character), Ibiki, Naruto

Word Count: 1,091

AN: Sparrow is, as proven before, Raidou, and our dear Wolf is someone else. You'll find out who he is later. *hugs everyone* Enjoy!

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"So, there was absolutely no trace of whoever got her out of the cell? We knew this. What I want to know is how the fuck they got past the guards that were watching her," Ibiki growled, Anko pacing around his office as two of the ANBU who were working the case stood before his desk, masks hiding their expressions.

"We actually did discover how they got past the guards," Wolf replied, pulling out a piece of paper with a seal on it, placing it down on the desk. "Apparently, the first time he had gotten in, he had had a seal master plant these around the ceiling."

"What exactly do they do?" Ibiki asked, examining the copy of the seal, eyes squinting to check out the fine details of it.

"In a way, it slows time down, or makes it seem like it. It turns the air around you heavy, and in turn, your body feels heavy. It makes it easy for someone going pretty fast to be invisible to those under its influence," Sparrow stated, raising one eyebrow behind his mask as Anko growled. "We wouldn't have found them at all except that Anko-san decided to go crawling around the ceilings and walls, which set them off on the rest of us."

"And what happened after she set it off? I have a feeling that there is a rather interesting story there," the scarred man said, smirking at the moan that came from Anko.

"Oh, just shove it would you? I fell off the damn ceiling. When the seal activates it apparently also messes with your chakra system. So I lost the ability to hold myself up on the rather high ceiling," she growled, getting smug smiles, knowing that Wolf and Sparrow had ones on their lips even behind the masks. "I will start getting people who dare make a joke about this," she hissed, getting a bark of laughter from Ibiki. He found his apprentices reactions to be very interesting, fun to watch.

"So I take it if we can, we can hunt for the person who set the traps and hopefully find out who got her out?" Wolf asked, getting a nod from Ibiki as he smirked. The three tenses as their boss and friend frowned and laid his arms on the table.

"I worry about Naruto. I do not doubt that she will come after him as soon as she's able to, and she will more then likely try to further her agenda against him. Somehow, it just happens to coincide with whoever got her out and their own plans," he finally said, drawing the threes attention to a new detail that they hadn't figured out.

"Why would she go after him after all this? Especially after she had seen and been told what would happen to her?" Wolf asked, looking between his companions.

"That's the next thing we're going to have to deal with your lack of knowledge about psychology," Sparrow snorted, patting his trainees back. "You're lucky you're smart in a lot of other ways. Now, as to your question, Sakura is a narcissistic sociopath who thinks that the world should revolve around her and believe everything that she believes and sees and nothing more. She wants to be the one controlling everything and everybody, but she doesn't want the responsibility that comes with it."

"She is, unfortunately, a very dangerous opponent since she's such a wild card in her way of thinking and acting," Anko drawled, Wolf nodding his head, seemingly thinking about what he had been told.

"For now, the three of you need to head off and continue to hunt for clues as to what happened and who got her out," Ibiki ordered.

"Yes, sir," Wolf and Sparrow replied, nodding their heads. Anko growled lowly and disappeared in a small puff of smoke along with Wolf. Sparrow hummed softly, brushing a bit of hair back under his skull cap.

"Sir, how is Naruto-kun doing?" Sparrow asked, voice worried. Ibiki sat back and rubbed at his head, eyes closing as he laid his head onto the back of the seat.

"He's trying to focus on the here and now for the moment. He's so worried about what Sakura is planning to do now that she's lose once more. On top of that, he has the meeting with the clan heads, so he's reading over the information we've found and making sure that he has all of the information straight," he finally stated, rubbing at his eyes with a sigh of disgust. "He's working himself into a state of exhaustion nearly every night and that rather worries me."

"He's always been that way. I suggest you go home early sometime this week and drag him away from his prepping, preferably tonight since he meets with the clan heads tomorrow," Sparrow stated, Ibiki sighing and nodding his head with a look on his face.

"Fine, I will trust you on this about him," the bald male drawled, Sparrow smiling behind his mask. "Now, go teach Wolf about psychology and the human mind."

"Yes, sir," the ANBU drawled, bowing before leaving quickly with his own puff of smoke. Sighing, the large man stretched his legs out before him before looking towards the wall clock. Seeing the time, he figured that Naruto would be at home and burying himself in research once more. Standing up, he left instructions for anything unimportant to be sent to Anko for the rest of the day. Locking his office up behind him, he left the building and headed for the home he currently shared with the sweet fox.

Arriving at the house, he sent Itachi off before entering, finding Naruto nibbling on a fry and going over his speech once more, trying hard to find something wrong with it.

"Naruto, put that away and come with me. We need to get away from your rather intense work and relax," the large man said, drawing blue eyes away from the papers and to him.

"What?" Naruto asked, blinking in surprise when Ibiki snorted and took his speech away from his hands before drawing the blond away from the table.

"Help me pack a simple dinner and I'lls how you around the grounds since I wasn't able to last week with all of the chaos," Ibiki stated, getting a small smile from the younger man before he nodded. Together, the two packed a basket before leaving the home, heading into the woods that surrounded the house, heading for a small meadow area.


	16. Chapter 16

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 16  
Pairing: Ibiki/Naruto

Word count: 873

AN: Yay for filler! Or something. Yes, just a fluffy filler chapter for you guys. Next chapter…well, I'm going to not say anything about that chapter. Yet.

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Heading through the woods, the two rarely talking as they hiked, Ibiki and Naruto enjoyed the rare quiet time that they found themselves in.

"Are we almost there?" Naruto asked curiously, the two pausing as Naruto clipped a few herbs that Tsunade wanted to test when ever they found some.

"Almost. We just need to get through these woods," Ibiki drawled, pointing to several tall wheat like stalks.

"Tsunade-baa-chan uses those in some of her remedies. They're very useful if annoying in the fact that they grow anywhere they seed," Naruto hummed, feeling rather proud of himself at having remembered that fact. Ibiki smiled and nodded as he led the smaller male through the plants before them.

"I also use them in a few of my own concoctions. With the right ingredients, the resulting paste creating a slow heating feeling. It doesn't physically damage a person, but it does burn," the large man said, looking over his shoulder, getting a wide eyed look.

"It sounds as if there's a lot more to interrogation then just pain," Naruto said, a smile dancing on Ibikis lips at that.

"That's correct. It's also part psychological. If you want, I can find some books on the subject for you," he offered.

"Yes, please. Psychological warfare is something I've been interested in but I just never really got around to learning about it," Naruto replied, his voice bright with interest as they stepped into a large grassy area, drawing blue eyes to the simplistic beauty of the area. Green grass melded with wheat colored stalks, creating a very interesting effect for the eyes as wild flowers added sets of bright bursts of color. "Wow. How have you kept this to yourself for so long?" the blond asked, voice breathless.

"I bought the land the moment I became part of ANBU, just for this beautiful bit of peace," Ibiki admitted. Looking up at the other male, Naruto smiled brightly and patted his arm. "Come on, let's lay out the blanket and eat dinner."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Naruto hummed, taking the basket from Ibiki and hunting for a proper spot to set up for their dinner. Finding the right spot, he set the basket down and pulled out the blanket, laying it out under Ibikis watchful eyes. The large man had to smile as he watched all of the tension slowly leech out of Naruto with every passing minute. It was looking as if Sparrow had been right that the small blond would need to be dragged away from his work to be able to relax fully.

He would have to do something nice for the ANBU.

"Com on, Ibiki, I want to eat," Naruto called from his spot. Laughing lowly, the large man walked over to where his companion was waiting for him and slipped off his jacket, leaving him in a pair of pants, books and long sleeved shirt. Naruto blushed at just how tight the clothes were and sat on the ground with a sigh of pleasure, blond hair ruffling in the breeze around him. His companion sat next to him and helped him unload the basket, spreading out the food.

Once that was done, Ibiki settled in with his rice ball as Naruto hummed happily over his own plate of food. The two continued to enjoy their meal, eyes closed over the tastes that slid over their taste buds before Ibiki decided to break their silence.

"How are your friends taking you being the way you are now?" he asked, getting a curious blink from the smaller man. "I know that you've been working with Hinata-san and Sasuke-san, but outside of that information…" he trailed off. Naruto grinned at the use of his closest friends names, having tried to get Ibiki to use them before but he had never been quite successful.

"As far as I know, they're still good with it. They've been training and doing missions just like I have lately, at least the training part since I'm still doing desk missions mostly," Naruto drawled, getting a smirk from his companion. "Though, Neji-kun is moving in with his lovers." Ibiki nodded a bit, Naruto counting to see how long it would take the other man to react to the news.

"Wait, lovers?"

Ten seconds, give or take a few nano seconds.

Ibiki was feeling thrown off by the news, Naruto looking smug about being able to throw the man and enjoying the gob smacked look on his face. Getting rid of the look, the large man wondered how he had missed Neji getting not with just one person but two, especially since he came from such a ridged clan.

"So who is he with?" eh finally asked, wondering if he should break into the sake bottles that he had brought along with them.

"Kakashi and Iruka," Naruto chirped happily. Ibiki groaned and pulled out the sake bottle after all. The blond laughed as the man opened the bottle before finding a cup for himself, downing the drink in one swig, muttering about surprises and being to damn old for them. "But Ibiki-san, you're only 28," Naruto teased, getting a dry look from his companion, sending him into another round of laughter.


	17. Chapter 17

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 17

Characters: Many

Word count: 1,461

AN: A warning: **I**** am ****sorry ****to ****say**** but**** for**** the**** month ****of**** November ****there ****will**** only ****be**** 2**** posts**** from ****me. ****Finding**** a ****Bit ****of ****Trust ****will ****be ****posted ****on**** December**** 25****th**** and**** A**** Shifting**** of**** Life**** will**** be**** on**** December**** 11****th****. ****Why?**** Because ****I**** will**** be ****busy**** working**** on ****my ****National**** Novel**** Writing**** Month ****novel**** and**** won****'****t**** have**** as**** much**** time ****to**** work**** on**** my**** main ****stories.**

**On December 2ned, the normal posting schedule will resume.**

**Thanks.**

**Faery**

**PS: had to fix this. Phased out the smut.  
**

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Drawing off his dirtied shirt, Neji sighed quietly and stretched very slowly as he cracked his back, more then happy to be home once more. He had moved in with his surprise lovers nearly a week before Sakura had fucked Naruto over, but he had never told anyone seeing as just who his lovers were. Who would think that Iruka and Kakashi had taken an interest in him?

But they had once they had set about wooing him he had been helpless against them. Not that he had really tried to fight against them once he knew that they weren't playing with him. He had loved every moment of it and still did.

Long arms snaked around his waist and pulled him close to a strong, lean body. Sighing with a happy tone, Neji melted into Kakashi with a smile dancing on his lips, hands resting on the white arms.

"Kakshi, how was the mission? Did anything turn up about the psycho bitch?" he asked in greeting as Kakashi nuzzled into his neck.

"Once again, nothing. Her disappearing act is making all of us really twitchy about things," the silver haired nin hummed against soft skin, smirk spreading at the full body shiver.

"We'll find her. After all, there's half the village after her," Neji drawled, feeling his lover laugh and nod. "I have to be at the clan meeting by the I'm now the head of the branch family of the Hyuuga clan, I get to go to the various meetings when I'm not dealing with missions," he told his lover. Kakashi hummed and nodded as he ran his hands down over the long haired mans sides, finding the bottom of his under shirt and sliding under it.

He chuckled as Neji wiggled and glared lightly as he pulled it off, tossing it to the laundry basket. Pulling away, the younger of the two shed his pants and boxers, leaving him nude as Kakashi watched him with appreciative eyes. Gathering a pair of boxers, a towel and a large shirt that had once been Irukas before Neji had claimed it as his own.

"I need a shower like you wouldn't believe. Not only did I have gate duty, but I was stuck helping at the academy for testing, oral at least. How Iruka-san can stand doing such a thing every day I will never know," Neji hummed, pausing in the bathroom door way and looking over his shoulder at the staring Kakashi. "So, do you want to join me for that shower?" he asked, all innocence and sweetness. The silver haired man smirked, eyes sparkling at the teasing note in his mates voice.

"Such a tempting offer, and one I plan on accepting," Kakashi drawled, tugging off his own clothing and tossing them aside, intent on placing his claim on the younger male again. He knew that Iruka and Neji had been busy during the last couple of days while he had been gone. He could smell the fresh and stale scent of sex and lust. Following after the lean man, he stood in the doorway and watched as his lover set up the shower, a bath for after and their various toiletries.

When they had first brought in Neji as their third, they hadn't expected the youngest of them to take over the household duties, outside of laundry, which Iruka enjoyed doing. The young Hyuuga cleaned, despite the fact that the there wasn't much too clean, cooked with Iruka and shopped whenever he had time. It was nice and something that the youngest member wanted to do, instead of feeling he needed to do to appease his lovers.

And when it was just them, just the three of them, Neji made sure that they were spoiled and loved. That is, when he and Iruka didn't spoil him before he had a chance.

Lighting a candle that he knew Kakashi enjoyed, Neji stepped under the hot spray of the water, sighing happily at the warmness that soaked into his body. Kakashi was quick to follow after, stepping in after the other with a smile at the thought of a wet and slippery Hyuuga that smirked over his shoulder at him.

"Hello there," Neji purred, eyes sparkling brightly as he wiggled and pressed into the strong body as he turned around to face the silver haired man. "Now that you have me all alone, all wet and slippery, what is it you plan on doing?" he asked teasingly. Kakashi smirked and slid his hands down the lean body before cupping the others ass, fingers trailing over the sweet entrance he found there. Neji shivered and bit his bottom lip as he ran his own hands over pale, scarred skin.

"I have a few ideas on what I plan on doing, including on making you scream my name, loudly," Kakashi growled, leaning down and nibbling at his neck, feeling his long haired mate shiver under his lips. Neji moaned contently, shifting against the other man as his own hands found the long dick he wanted to fuck him silly.

"Can foreplay wait for a few hours?" he asked, eyes sparkling and wide. Kakashi groaned, knowing just what the younger male wanted and he was more then willing to give it to Neji. Smirking, the silver haired man bit into the supple skin of his mates neck as he slid a water slick finger straight into the grasping body, dragging a wailing moan from the other.

After making sure that they were both sore and happy, Neji pleading for more before spilling and letting the water rinse them off, Kakashi smiled and brushed a hand over his lovers cheek, enjoying the dark marks that were coming up on pale skin. Neji hummed lazily and lent into the hand. Laughing lowly, the older male pulled out and cleaned the both of them up, the younger male watching with glazed eyes, before tumbling him into their bed, Iruka walking in with a tray.

"When did you get home?" Kakashi asked, greeting the brunette with a slow kiss.

"About the time that Neji was begging for more and harder," Iruka hummed. "Enough time to make a simple dinner for us," he continued.

"Delightful," Kakashi hummed.


	18. Chapter 18

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Chapter: 18

Characters: Sakura, Danzo

Word count: 1,119

AN: Remember, that the posting goes back to normal next week, on the 3ed. Thank you for your patience and I hope you like this!

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Trailing her hand over her side, Sakura had to giggle softly and twirl around a bit. She had been given such beautiful things that looked good on her, or so she thought. They ranged in various shades of red and pink and made her happy, that was all she cared about.

After all, she deserved fine things since she would soon be Mrs. Sasuke Uchiha. But first they had to destroy the idiot who was holding her Sasuke-kun back, _the__stupid__bastard__monster_ that had screwed up her life with his lies.

Scowling, she kicked over the freestanding mirror, enjoying the crash of it as she turned away from the flying shards of glass and stomping towards her door.

Pausing, she took a deep breath and smoothed a hand down over her dress, making sure the dark red fabric hugged her curves just right before reaching down and opening it. Glaring at the man who stood there, she sniffed and walked past him, missing the dull look of disgust on the shinobis face as he followed behind her.

What she didn't know, despite all the promises her savior had made, the man was going to enjoy using her. They all knew it, except the pink haired banshee who was going to fuck them all over in the long run. The male shifted on his feet, feeling a bit uncomfortable before he quickly squashed it. He still had a job to do after all. He just hadn't expected it to include Sakura. Grumbling, he made a note to send the new information to Ibiki when he wasn't being watched like a hawk.

Sakura just smugly smirked as she headed towards where she was supposed to meet her benefactor. Opening the door, once more sneering at the guards there, she stepped out and slammed the doors behind her. The three guards just shared a look and shook their heads in annoyance at having to deal with who they had dubbed **the****pink****toy****poodle**.

Staring at the man before her, Sakura smirked as he looked up with his one uncovered eye and smirked in return.

"Sakura, what a delight," he drawled lowly, sitting back and waving to a seat with a bandaged covered arm. Once more, she felt a bit of curiosity as to why he covered his arm in such a way before shoving it back from her thoughts. She had no concerns except how the man would help her get Sasuke-kun to see Naruto as the demon he was. "I hope that your rooms are approved of, along with the dresses."

"Of course," she hummed, green eyes glinting. Danzo knew that she would have to be taken care of eventually. He just hoped that it wouldn't be for a while yet since he did have many plans that included her.

"Sit," he said, leaning forward to rest on his elbows, eye watching her as she took the seat, her skirt slitting to show an indecent amount of leg. "I have heard rumors that the brat is training once more, mostly with the Uchiha. He's also being watched over by a very possessive Ibiki, or so my eyes tell me," he started, listening to her snort, having looked down at his files, flipping through them.

"Narutos always been one to try and get all the attention on him, the pain in the ass," she said, insult dripping from her voice. "Why anyone would want to be possessive over him, I will never understand."

"Ah, but Ibiki is a complex man. No one has been able to figure him out," Danzo drawled, sitting back in his chair as he flipped a few pages. "They seem to be getting closer. It also seems as if all of your papers have been locked up tighter then the hokages pussy." The pink haired female snickered lowly at the insult, eyes glinting at the thought of getting back at her ex-teacher next. "She's been going over the files, even as she whittles away at my power."

"You'll get it back, no worries," Sakura said, brushing off the threat, getting a dry look.

"It also seems as if Uzumaki has a meeting with the clan heads," he continued, watching Sakura sit up straight, making him smirk. It looked as if he had hit a point that she hadn't known about. Good.

"Why would that demon have a meeting with the clan heads?" she snapped, making Danzo wonder just why he had offered her, her freedom in exchange for her working for him.

"Because, he has a clan name, but no one knows which one it is," Danzo snorted, tossing the file before him, Narutos picture attached to it. Most of it was blacked out, a few lines clear and readable, mostly about his fighting abilities. "At least no one who isn't part of the clan council knows. The clan heads of course aren't talking and I doubt that they ever will, even under torture. They're smart to keep the knowledge hidden."

"Why is that?" Sakura asked, scowling at the fact that Naruto had a clan name instead of being the damnable orphan that no one cared about that he should have been.

"Because, if his file is this blacked out, then his parents are very important in the scheme of things," Danzo explained, scowling at her for not thinking of it. She was supposed to be the smartest of her year, but it seemed as if her madness was affecting her mental abilities. "Listen to me, Sakura, if he's important, he will be heavily guarded until you're either caught or we're able to do what we want to do. I want that little bastard as my tool, my weapon!"

Wincing, Sakura scowled and nodded her head as the man before her dropped the copy of Narutos file into one drawer. She knew better then to bother him when he was pissed off or agitated. In the short time that she had been with him, he had shown her just why he was the leader of ROOT and why people didn't trust him. He had a temper that he rarely showed but when he did, it was with amazing results.

Standing up, she bowed to the other man and excused herself. Watching the pink haired annoyance leave, Danzo sat back and eyed the way she walked. He knew that the bitch would be useful, but he wondered if he would be able to deal with her for the amount of time that he would need her for. Rubbing at his lips with one hand, he narrowed his eyes and started to make plans for when she proved to be more of an annoyance instead of an asset.


	19. Chapter 19

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Naruto, Ibiki

Word count: 1,500

AN: Something cute and the such. I am sick so not much to say from me. :3

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Sitting back, Ibiki watched as his roommate and newest romantic interest, not that he would admit this to anyone, walked around their kitchen, putting things away. The large man had to say that it was cute, the way that the young man would clean and fuss things into just the right place. He wondered if Naruto wasn't slightly OCD about various things before shoving it from his mind.

Every ninja was OCD in some way, it was just what they were OCD about that were different.

Crossing one leg as he shifted his chair, Ibiki smirked as Naruto huffed and finished washing the last cup.

"I should be preparing for my clans meeting," the blond drawled, enjoying the way his companion raised an eyebrow and smirked at him.

"Should you?" Ibiki asked, tilting his chair back on two legs. "I'm certainly not holding you back from doing so."

"I seem to remember someone here taking me out on a picnic while I should have been working on my speech," Naruto drawled, giving the other man a long look. Ibiki just continued to smirk as he shrugged, hardly repentant about dragging the blond off for the day.

"Raidou was right, you need to be dragged off on occasion, otherwise you'll get sick in the long run," he said, shifting his chair to rest once more on four legs. "You're relaxed and you're ready for the meeting tomorrow," Ibiki stated, making Naruto nod in agreement.

"True. I think though, I'm going to go take a shower and get some sleep for tomorrow. Who is going to be my personal guard for while you're working down stairs?" he asked, drying his hands on a towel before hanging it on a hook. The bald man did a one shoulder a shrug, watching his blond companion pull out the tea kettle. They had fallen into the habit of having tea before bed when they were up in the last few days, finding that it helped them relax.

"I don't know yet. I'm looking at several of my ANBU who wouldn't be that odd to see you with," Ibiki finally admitted, watching Naruto fill the kettle with water and place it onto the stove to heat.

Naruto thought for a few moments before musing aloud, "There's not many and you know it. Neji maybe could get away with it every so often because we do train together, but the same goes with Itachi and Kakashi when he's playing ANBU. Raidou and me don't really go out and about in public since we prefer movies and the such," shrugging as the kettle went off. Taking it off the stove, he reached up and pulled two mugs down from a cabinet, adding tea balls that they had started to keep ready for ease of making and enjoying their nightly tea.

Pouring the hot water over the two tea balls, Narutos ears twitched at the sound of leather shifting, prompting him to look over his shoulder. Ibiki had stood and was shrugging out of his coat, hanging it on a hanger that hung from a coat rack.

"You really should move that," Naruto teased, getting a dry look as he removed the tea balls, laying them in the sink.

"You know why I keep it in here then in my front hall," the large man growled, making Naruto snicker softly and nod his head.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Naruto chirped, walking over and handing Ibiki his mug that held very lightly sweetened tea. Holding his own, he wrapped long fingered hands around the warmth and sighed happily, eyes closed as he breathed in the fragrant steam. Ibiki sat down at the table, just watching the young blond nearly melt as he continued to scent the tea. It was fascinating to watch the sweet male before him relax and become more human then most nins of the village.

It was rare to find the time to relax, to just forget about the blood on their hands, or to remember and mourn the loss of their humanity and the people that had fallen to the job. It was even rarer to find someone who could under stand where they were coming from, what was going on in their heads. But when they found that time, and they found that person, they used it well.

Ibiki himself allowed himself to brood a bit or indulge in a book or two on techniques that would come in handy with his job. Occasionally he would create a new idea or jutsu, having several genjutsus under his belt for his interrogations.

Naruto though, he cleaned or drank tea. He trained most of his free time and the rest of the time, he went on missions to make sure he had money at any one time, an unfortunate side effect of his past. So when he had the rare time when he just couldn't do anything or had nothing to do, he tended to do things that were mindless. Ibiki had discovered that 3 days after Naruto had moved in with him.

The fox had scrubbed the entire house, bar Ibikis bedroom, from top to bottom. He had actually found several things that the interrogator had thought lost in the attic. His house had been organized and sanitized in a way that surprised the man, the scents of his favored softly scented cleaners filling the air around him. It had only taken a day or two for the natural scents of him and his companion to replace it, but it was softer in scent instead of stale…old.

After he had cleaned and organized the entire house, Naruto had taken a hot shower and bath before coming down and making tea. Honey Vanilla tea to be precise, which had been a surprised to Ibiki. Naruto had just told him that the tea was soft in flavor and didn't keep him awake with caffeine since it was naturally decaffeinated.

Ibiki found he enjoyed the tea to, but instead of the honey that Naruto added, he added a bit of simple syrup that Naruto had introduced him to. It seemed as if many of his new addictions came back to the small blond.

"So, Naruto, do you want someone to be with you while you're in the meeting?" Ibiki asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence between them. Naruto shook his head, taking his own seat finally.

"No, I can't have anyone with me. There can't be weapons in the meeting all either," he said, shrugging. "A jutsu was set up when the first clan heads came together to stop any fighting because back then, more then just the Hyuugas and Uchihas were fighting. Nearly every clan had a beef with each other about something or another," he explained, Ibiki nodding.

"I remember hearing about that. Something about how a lot of the clans came from feuding areas and that carried over after they were set up," Ibiki drawled, getting a smile and a nod.

"Yeah, so the first and second hokages set up the jutsu and laid out the rules. The clan council room has a strict no fighting and no weapons rule. Can't stop the debates, anger and snipping but any attacks within the floor of the same room are seen as traitorous," Naruto continued, sipping his tea once more. "As for a guard, only those who are part of the clans can enter. I should have Neji and Shikamaru at the least with me. More then likely Choji and Ino to if they can make it."

"At least you'll be surrounded by friends," Ibiki drawled, once more getting a smile and a nod. "Good. Then I won't have to hurt someone for daring to touch the one I'm courting."

"Courting? You…what?" Naruto squeaked as Ibiki stood up with a smirk on his face, moving into the kitchen to rinse out his cup and toss the tea leaves.

"Courting. I want to ask Tsunade-sama for her permission, but only if you don't mind," Ibiki drawled, enjoying the wide eyed look on Narutos face.

"You really want to court me?" Naruto finally asked, looking shyly down at his cup. "No ones really wanted to court me before. Even after my clan status was discovered."

"I want to. I find myself drawn to you and a courtship is a good way to get to know you in a more romantic way instead of a regular friendship. Especially since we've had one for years already," Ibiki stated, getting a shy smile.

"I'd like that. I'll expect the scroll with Tsunade-baa-chans signature on it soon, possibly with Iruka-kuns signature since he is like my older brother," Naruto said, rinsing his own cup. Kissing Ibikis cheek, he bounced up the stairs, leaving the large man to whimper in slight fear.

"For a Chunin, Iruka-san is a scary, scary mother hen. Why me?" Ibiki sighed, finally shaking his head and making his own way up the stairs, flipping off lights behind him.


	20. Chapter 20

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 20

Characters: Ibiki, several others

Word count: 1,194

AN: Some more information and next chapter will have the meeting! Hope you guys enjoy. *smoochies*

**To all of my readers, the ones who review every chapter, and who keep coming back for more, I love you all! Thank you! Your continued fan loving is just what I need in my life right now. Thank you, everyone of you. Thank you.**

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Standing just outside of the council room, Ibiki sighed and rubbed at his head, feeling the scars and whorls that laid under the cloth over them. Taking a slow deep breath, he groaned and leaned against the wall behind him, arms and legs crossed as he glared at the door that mocked him.

Naruto had gone in just a scant 5 minutes ago and already he was twitchy. It was pathetic how paranoid he was about leaving the younger man alone, even knowing that he was a fully trained shinobi. He still didn't trust Sakura not to pull something stupid and try to attack while the clan heads met finally to discuss what was going on with the young blond. He just hoped that they didn't take insult to the fact that the small fox like male was wearing his hooded jacket, Hokages permission or not.

Letting his head thunk against the wall, Ibiki extended his senses, finding several ANBU at their stations around the building and the grounds that the tower sat. There were several Chunins running around in the lower levels while by the feel of her chakra, Tsunade was amused about something.

She was probably reading the courtship scroll that he had turned in earlier that afternoon, after facing down Iruka and getting his signature. After being threatened by castration by the dullest chakra scalpel he could create, the man had signed the scroll and told the man that he should expect to take Naruto out on quite a few dates.

He knew that fact already, wanting to prove his worth to Naruto, especially with the fact that he was a clan leader. Children weren't really a concern, seeing as the blond already had several surrogates lined up for when he was ready to have a child should he marry a male or when he was just ready to care for one. Ibiki himself had several surrogates lined up for when he was ready to.

So children were no worry but making the relationship strong and last was. Ibiki wondered if he would be able to do this without fucking it up completely. He was a strong man, a very dangerous man, with many rough edges and very few people got his very twisted humor. Even fewer got his job and just what he saw on a near daily basis.

Naruto understood, which still surprised most people when they first met him. He was smart, but he lived without someone there to push and prod him into learning and growing for so long that he had been unsure as how to act when he did get someone to do that for him. It was surprising at how close they were in terms to their interactions with new people, despite what they showed to said people.

Ibiki showed a sociopathic torture expert, with some people calling him a psychopathic man, while Naruto showed a bubbly idiot with a too sharp grin. But under that show they were watching the person they had just met, figuring out their weaknesses, their personalities and their strengths. They were figuring out the fastest way to take the person out if they needed to, like all good nins did but to a very odd extreme of things.

They were profilers of the highest caliber and they could see that in each other. Naruto was also one of the people to see his softer side, the more protective side. But the blond never told anyone about it, which just validated Ibikis trust in the small blond.

Sighing, the scarred interrogation expert stood straight at the feeling of Choza Akimichi, one of the first clan heads that would soon be arriving. Standing straight, he nodded at the large man with a smirk dancing on his lips.

"Akimichi-san," Ibiki drawled, the man smiling in return.

"I don't suppose I'll get out of you what is going on will I?" he asked in good humor, getting a shake of a head. "Fine, tease us," he huffed before waving and walking into the council room, letting the door close behind him. Walking to one chair, he took his seat as Naruto played with several pages, hood drawn up and fingers on his other hand tapping on the table before him. "Calm down, Naruto-san. Nothing to bad will happen, especially with Tsunade-sama here and the jutus in place," he said, his chair creaking.

Outside of the door, Itachi Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuuga were walking up. Hiashi was in a basic white kimono, the usual Hyuuga wear most of the time, brown hair pulled back and lean face set into a cool look as his pale lavender eyes glared before him. In contrast, Itachi was smirking smugly about something, red-black eyes flashing with his mirth and black hair pulled back into his usual pony tail.

"Stop teasing Hyuuga-san, Uchiha-san," Ibiki grumped, getting a low laugh as Itachi opened the door and stepped into the room, followed by Hiashi. The next to arrive were Shibi Aburame, looking much like an older version of his son with his rather thick hair, glasses that sat over his eyes and the coat that covered his body the usual with him. Soon following after him was Hana Inzuka in place of her mother, smirking at Ibiki as she and Shibi disappeared into the council meeting room.

Shikaku Nara, in all of his slouching, goateed, bored glory was followed by Asuma Sarutobi, who squashed the cigarette under Ibikis glare as he muttered about already knowing what was going on. Inoichi Yamanaka just snickered and walked into the room, letting Asuma follow after, leaving Ibiki to shake his head and wonder when Tsunade would arrive.

She didn't take long before she too was walking past him, smiling and nodding as she hefted the large box in her hands, walking into the room. Ibiki had to wonder just how well the meeting would go in the long run. He had no doubt that Naruto would present all of the needed information to the council and then Tsunade would probably explain what was going on, including Sakuras escape from her cell with the help of someone on the inside.

Twitching, the large man snarled as his mind remembered just what they had and hadn't found when they had searched her cell. It was going to be a bitch to find her, just for the simple fact that there had been absolutely no chakra signature for them to follow, which meant it had been someone strong and very knowledgeable about chakra suppression. When he found them, Ibiki would show them just why you didn't piss him off and take one of his prisoners.

You just didn't.

Sighing softly, he looked around and frowned as an ANBU walked up to him with a piece of paper, handing it over. "Sir, we have a lead on her," the crow masked ANBU stated, getting a hard nod as Ibiki put the piece of paper away with a frown.

"Good. I'll see to it after the council meeting. Tell Deer and Parrot to meet me at my office," he stated, the ANBU nodding and disappearing without a sound.


	21. Chapter 21

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Chapter: 21

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Many

Word Count: 1,340

AN: And finally, the meeting! Enjoy you guys. Remember, reviews are responded to at a decent time. Just not this weekend. I have a date with a boyfriend to keep.

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Everyone stared at everyone else, eyes occasionally shifting towards Naruto who just looked up from under his hood and smiled slightly as the clan heads settled in. Asuma was to his left, grumbling about being there, already knowing what was going on as it was while Tsunade was on his right, Itachi to her right, looking rather amused by it all.

"So, wanna tell us what's going on?" Inoichi asked, sitting back in his chair with a smile dancing on his lips, reminding Naruto of Ino quite a bit.

"Okay, so about 2 days before I called this meeting, Sakura went rouge on us," Naruto said, leaning his elbows on the table, fingers lacing together as he frowned lightly. "She asked me to help test a new way to unseal chakra points when they get stuck mid-transformation. What I didn't know what that the shot that she gave me wasn't supposed to be given. The reason why is because it made my chakra fluctuate while I was shifting between forms. From what I understand, Kyuubi activated the chakra that was mixed with mine by using the chakra that is being added to save my life and well…"

"The results are adorable," Tsunade finished for him, smirking at the scowl on Narutos lips as he stood up and pulled the hood down. The group stared at the ears that twitched amongst the blond locks as he pulled the jacket off all the way, freeing his blond tail.

"Well, no wonder Neji just smirked at me this morning," Hiashi said finally, trying to keep his voice under control at the sight. Neji had been humming and smiling for the entire week since he had come over from Ibikis home, making Hiashi wonder just what he had seen while there. From what was before him, he knew now that it was because of just how Naruto looked.

He had been on the track to being handsome with a softer look about him then his father, but now, he was downright androgynous. It was an amazing sight. And caused many of the men, married or not, to wonder if there was anything else about the sweet fox that had changed before they quickly squashed the idea.

"So…the chakra was used to save your life while your system went off, right?" Itachi asked, well use to seeing the blond with his appendages from his job guarding him.

"Yeah. The chakra that was pumping through my body was stopping and then rushing to fast for my coils to handle, than it would stop again. I don't remember much beyond that and from what I can remember it hurt a lot. Growing the ears and tail no so much," Naruto replied, sitting down again, looking down at his papers.

"Can you remove them?" Shibi asked curiously, getting a shake of Narutos head as his answer. "Why not?"

"Because they're physical manifestations of my chakra and if I cut them off, they'll just grow back and I'll lose a bit of my chakra," Naruto explained. "I really don't want to lose any of my chakra because even losing a tiny bit would throw my entire system off for a while. As it is, I'm having to retrain myself with the added appendages," he continued, sitting back and crossing his legs.

"When I found out what she had done, I had ordered her to go visit Ibiki and she was placed in a cell," Tsunade started, looking down at her own notes before frowning heavily. "Somehow, someone got in to see her, knocking out several of our ANBU, who had been watching her and Anko-san to. We later found out that there had been seals placed on the walls and the ceiling that when activated let out a potent sleep agent. It was just strong enough to make the ANBU easily placed under a genjutsu that clouded their minds and hid the persons appearance from them.

"A few days ago, she was discovered gone from her cell. Apparently who ever wanted her, knew enough about the cells to get her out," she continued, looking up with a serious expression on her face. "Without leaving a trace of chakra, scent, hair, nothing. There was nothing in that cell that could tell us who was there and there was nothing in it to suggest that it once held my ex-student."

"Are you telling me someone from inside the village has turned traitor and is still operating within our walls?" Hiashi asked, eyebrows drawing low as a scowl formed on his face.

"Unfortunately, yes, that is what I'm telling you. Naruto may be in danger, along with Sasukes fiancé and Sasuke himself. She's obsessed with Sasuke and if Kimi-san is seen as in her way, she may go after her and try to kill her. Itachi," Tsunade stated, turning to him with a dark look, "tell your brother that he's going to be working with me as my assistant at the hospital. He'll be assigned to where Kimi-san works, seeing as they're starting to be able to put files into a computer system. Due to that, she's one of the few working with the files and doing a lot of typing. Sasuke is going to do a lot of hefting, scanning and watching until we fix this."

"Yes, Hokage-same," Itachi said, nodding sharply as he sat straight and firm.

"Naruto will be watched over by an ANBU whenever he is not with me, Ibiki-san, Itachi-san or Sasuke-san," Tsunade told the council, giving each man a long look. "Tell your children to be on high alert but keep it quiet. There is no reason to cause panic if we can help it. Hopefully, we'll be able to figure this out and soon."

With a final "Yes, Hokage-sama" the council broke off, Hiashi, Hana and Shibi staying behind to talk with Naruto. The young blond was putting together his papers with a worried frown.

"Naruto-kun, where have you been staying since this happened?" Hana asked, poking gently at one ear with a delicate claw, watching the ear flick quickly before twisting towards her.

"Ibiki-kuns home actually. That place is so covered in traps, wards and warnings that it's nearly impossible to get through without using chakra if you don't want to end up in a lot of pain," Naruto admitted, smiling at her before nodding to the two clan heads. "Actually, he's planning on courting me, which was a surprise, let me tell you."

"Ibiki Morino? Courting you? I never would have thought I would see the day of that man courting someone, much less finding someone willing to accept the courtship," Hiashi drawled, getting a narrowed eyed look as he smiled softly. "I'm glad that he was finally able to find that in you. I do hope that things go well for you two in the long run and remember, if it does not work out, I do have two daughters that would be interesting in marrying you, if not several male family members," he said, getting a huff and a pout.

"I'm happy with my scarred interrogator, thank you, Hiashi-san. After all, he went to Iruka to get his approval for the courtship," Naruto sang before he smiled and waved at the three, leaving the room and smiling bright at Ibiki, who was looking a bit worried about something. "What's up?" Naruto asked, getting a soft smile.

"Let's go to my office," Ibiki hummed, drawing Naruto away. Shibi smirked and shook his head at his friends.

"Looks like the man is possessive," he mused, Hana smirking and nodding.

"Poor little Kiba is going to be so pouty when he finds out about this," she drawled before leaving with a happy, bouncy goodbye.

"And people wonder why I'm glad my wife isn't bouncy," Shibi snorted before he left, leaving Hiashi to his thoughts.

"I wonder if I should just go for a male lover myself. They seemed less bouncy and bright," he muttered, finally leaving the room with a shake of his head.


	22. Chapter 22

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 22

Characters: Shikamaru (deer) and Neji (parrot)

Word count: 1,220

AN: And another one! We're moving in the plot. :3 And what do they find? Some interesting things, that's what!

* * *

Slipping into the hallway, Deer paused and scowled under his mask, finding that there was a very fine layer of dust, meaning that somewhere there was a window open, letting in the wind. Looking around, he kneeled down and looked at the floor, working his way up to make sure that the dust hadn't hidden anything within his sight range as his partner slipped in behind him.

"I don't think anyones been here since just before that big storm that blew up the dust from the outer fields," Deer stated, getting a nod.

"Sounds about right," Parrot stated, slits as his eyes gazing over the hall himself. A muttered word and a shift of chakra alerted Deer that his friend was using his Byakugan before deactivating it. "We're alone. This base was abandoned no doubt and they're left no one here," Neji said as he lifted his mask, pulling up a face mask to filter out the dust around them.

"Great," Shikamaru muttered, standing straight and following the other mans example. "Let's get started," he said, Neji nodding and the two moving silently down the hall. Stopping at one door, they opened it to find an empty office, the drawers upturned and empty as they picked around the room. The desk was nearly a pile of splinters, making them wary about what or who could have done that.

Finishing with that room, the two headed for the next door that was down the hall, finding nothing in there. The next three rooms gave up nothing and they headed down another hall way. A single door stood on each side, the two sharing a long look. Deciding to check out the room on the left, they opened it and discovered a bedroom with a large bed that was ruffled, shards of a mirror that scattered on the floor and glimmered in the light from the window that was wide open, letting in light and dust.

"Well, looks like we found where some of the dust has come from," Shikamaru snorted, shaking his head with frown of distaste as they moved further into the room. They started to methodically go over the room, Neji knocking on the walls as Shikamaru worked on going through the various drawers, checking under the mattress and in the actual mattress itself, finding nothing. Opening the closet, he frowning at the sight of torn up dresses that had been tossed about the area, shaking his head with a sigh. "We found where Sakura was being kept at least," he said, Neji looking from near the ceiling.

"So I see. Looks as if she had a hissy fit before they left," the older male said, shaking his head before knocking on a piece of wall that sounded hollow. "Found out where our link put the letter, at least I hope so," he told Shikamaru as he worked the compartment open, finding a thick sheath of papers. "Damn, looks like there's a lot of information he hadn't been able to get to us."

"Looks like it," Shikamaru said, frowning lightly at the sight. Sighing, he kicked at a drawer just inside the closet, hearing a thunk followed by a hard thud. "Damn, what was that?" he asked, opened the drawer to find that a piece of the top of the drawer had fallen down, exposing what looked to be a journal.

"And it seems as if you found the missing journal that was Sakuras," Neji snorted, dropping to the floor as he placed the pile of papers into a sealing scroll, Shikamaru doing the same with the journal after flipping through it.

"Of course, like all the others it's in code that we only have half figured out," the younger male muttered, sneering under his mask as he tucked away the scroll.

"Come on, my friend, one other room in this hall way and then I think one last hallway," Neji teased, eyes sparkling as he lead the way out of the room. Going across the room, they opened the door, finding it cleaned of nearly everything that could be considered helpful. The large bed was bare of sheets, blankets and pillows, the dressers were cleared out with the drawers tossed about the room and the closet was empty except for hangers that swung back and forth in the breeze that came from the window that sat at the very back.

"Looks like even if they cleared out fast, they cleaned out completely," Shikamaru sighed, looking around before frowning. "You get everything else, check the dresser and the such and I'll check out the walls this time, see if there's anything," he said, moving to one wall, Neji nodding and moving towards the dresser. Both males smoothed and knocked against their respective items, trying to find out if there was anything there that was out of the ordinary.

Shikamaru found several compartments that were empty, telling him that they had been put there by whoever had slept there. He found the occasional scrap paper with dates and times of various meetings and the such but nothing to interesting. Sticking them into a sealing scroll, he continued hunting as Neji muttered and complained under his breath. The long haired male wasn't finding anything except furniture that was just that. Furniture, albeit cheap furniture, but furniture none the less.

"It looks like this person knew all the hiding places and cleaned them out," Neji stated, standing up after going over the bed. Brushing off his knees, he frowned and pulled out a small map that their touch stone had given them, noting that the next room was a computer room and that it to would probably be cleaned out. "Any luck with the walls?" he asked.

Shikamaru shook his head as he landed next to his companion, saying, "Nope. They cleared them out, probably knew about and did a full sweep before they left." Fixing his hair under his hia-te head cap, he eyed the map next to Neji and frowned unhappily.

"I hate computers," Neji grunted, Shikamaru nodding in agreement as they left the bedroom, heading for the last room on the list, which was just a door instead of a hall way. The two shared looks and used a small burst of chakra to dispel any gen-jutsus just in case. Opening the door and walking in, they both stared at the fact that there was just a single computer that looked old even to their untrained eyes.

"Wasn't that an original model back in the 4ths time?" Shikamaru asked, voice strained with his annoyance.

"Knowing our luck…they left it because it's deader then a damn door nail," Neji growled, the two sharing a look before Shikamaru pulled out a large scroll, unrolling it and laying it on the floor. Between the two of them, they placed the computer onto the scroll and activated the seal. Once it was sealed up, the younger of the two men picked up the scroll and tucked it away, the two leaving.

Soon they were standing in Ibikis office, handing over the scrolls and promising to have a full report in a bit of time, Naruto out in the report office, once more taking them. Being dismissed, the two left to their own homes, wanting a shower and to write their reports in peace.


	23. Chapter 23

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 23

Characters: Ibiki/Naruto

Word count: 1,483

AN: My dear readers, I have to say that it is amazingly fun to write my stories and hear what you think about it. It's all so lovely.

No, I'm not here to tell you that I'm stopping my writing, but to tell you just where I am on my three current stories.

A Shifting of Life:

-Total Chapters Written: 28

-Total Scenes to Write: 21

Finding a Bit of Trust:

-Total Chapters Written: 32

-Total Scenes to Write: 6

The Truth Behind His Life:

-Total Chapters Written: 11

-Scenes planned to Write: 6

Wow, so very close to the end of Finding a Bit of Trust. Wow. Once I finish it, I will continue my posting schedule up until the last chapter is up. After that, I will focus on The Truth Behind His Life and A Shifting of Life. When one of those two are done, Like a Bullet, a Bleach Fiction, will be posted.

Why am I doing this? It's so I can write, type and edit future stories, which are many.

For now, enjoy the update!

* * *

Having gotten the signed scroll with permission to court Naruto, Ibiki had set up their first official date together and was about to take Naruto out for a night together. Smoothing his shirt down, the scarred male scowled lightly, not used to wearing anything that wasn't nin gear. Shaking his head, he put on a skull cap that was colored a dark red, to match the dark red shirt that Iruka had shoved at him. How the man had found anything in his still unorganized closet, Ibiki would never figure out.

Gazing into said closet, he wondered if Naruto would one day go in there, do battle with the things that had grown in there and organize it. He had no doubt that it would happen eventually seeing as how Naruto had fully cleaned and organized his attic.

Shaking his head with a frown, Ibiki took in the rest of his pants, finding that he didn't look to bad with the shoes made of something akin to what his ninja sandals were made of, even if they covered his whole foot. The simple black pants that he wore were loose enough for him to move around in if need be. All in all not a bad look all around.

Making sure that he had his money and various weapons well hidden, he left his bedroom and headed downstairs to wait for his date to leave. He could hear Iruka and Naruto laughing in the blonds room, moving around and doing things that Ibiki could only imagine. Finding the coat that he was being forced to wear, he pulled it on and looked up when he heard soft food steps on the stairs.

Naruto was smiling at Iruka who was just behind him, the scarred man gazing at him with wide eyes. The blond was wearing a darker red shirt then his own, the color almost shifting between black and red. A pair of rather tight pants highlighted the lean legs, making Ibiki run his eyes over the long limbs in appreciation, wondering if he was pouting at the fact that the shirt covered Narutos hips. Simple black books covered his dates feet while his hair fell around his eyes artfully, for once not held back by his hiate.

"You look wonderful," Ibiki greeted, moving and take Narutos hand and flipping it over, kissing his wrist. Iruka smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Remember the rules of the courting, no sex until you're both ready and no sooner then the second date between you to," the chunin said, pulling on his own coat and opening the front door. "I expect to hear all about your date tomorrow, Naruto."

"Yes, Iruka-kun," Naruto hummed, watching as the older male left with a few bounces, leaving the land and the two. "So where are we going to eat dinner?" he asked, pulling on a black hooded jacket that Tsunade had given him for dates and other formal events. They were going to tell the village about his ears either the next day or the day after, but until then, he still had to hide his ears and that kept places he could go on the small side.

"Akimichi-san has offered a back booth to us for our date when I asked him," Ibiki explained, helping Naruto fix the hood. "I checked it out and it's perfectly hidden away from people. He himself will be coming to serve us himself and we're offered permanent reservations for his restaurant, even after the village has been told."

"He's so nice, much like his son," Naruto said happily, beaming as Ibiki lead him out of the house and towards the district where the nicer restaurants were located. They spoke of the meeting, Naruto pouting unhappily at the reminder that most of them had stared at him in surprise at how he had looked. "Shush. It's not my fault that I look the way I do," he huffed as Ibiki snickered lowly, nodding to Choza when he greeted them at the host stand.

"Come on you two, the booth is ready for your date," the large man said, laughing lowly when the interrogator wrapped his arm around Narutos waist.

"I rather enjoy the way you look, Naruto," Ibiki soothed, pressing a kiss to his forehead when he thought no one was looking. Choza smiled at the blush on Narutos cheeks at the gesture, surprised that his date wasn't adverse to displays of public affection. Sitting down, the two smiled as they were handed their menus, Narutos brighter then Ibikis smirking one.

The two opened their menus starting their conversation once more.

"So, everyone that needs to know does know now," Ibiki mused, smiling as Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, they do. Next is the village but you know what Tsunade-baa-chan plans on doing in regards to them," he said, finally pulling his jacket off, laying it next to him.

"Yes, of course. So hopefully there won't be too many people who will start making a fuss over your new appendages. I would hate to have to work even more due to the idiots," Ibiki drawled, getting a snort of laughter from his date.

"Yeah, all those reports that would pile up on your desk," Naruto cooed, batting his eyes teasingly as the large man rolled his eyes and snorted.

"That's your fault I'll have you know. Not even my secretary can get that many ANBU to return their reports on time much less in such nice condition," Ibiki drawled, shaking his head with a smile. "So, having fun?" he asked as Choza walked up with a bright smile, a pot of tea and two cups of water on a tray.

"So far? It's rather nice," Naruto hummed happily, accepting his water and tea cup from Choza.

"Are you two ready to order your appetizers?" the large man asked, getting nods. Writing down their orders from starting dish to last, he walked off to give them over to the chef, the two starting to talk once more.

"I was thinking we could go watch a fireworks display later on. Apparently there's a small carnival that came into town and is setting off fireworks to start off their time here," Ibiki offered, smiling as Naruto beamed in excitement.

"That sounds like so much fun," Naruto hummed happily, nearly bouncing in his seat. "Can we check out the carnival to by any chance? At least see what they have?" he asked.

"I was planning on that to," Ibiki admitted, getting a squeak of happiness as Naruto moved around the round booth and hugged the other around his waist, nuzzling the others shoulder.

"Thank you, Ibiki," he said softly, smiling lowly at his boyfriend as he had taken to thinking of the man.

"You're welcome," Ibiki said, smiling and patting the soft hair and twitching ears as they waited for their first dish to arrive. Through out the meal the two talked about various things, including how Narutos training was going and how much they had found out in regards to his abilities with the new appendages.

After they had eaten, complimenting the food much to Chozas delight, the two left the restaurant, Naruto once more wearing his hood. Finding a good spot away from most of the crowd, they stood and waited for the fireworks to start, happy to just stay silent between each other. With a flash of light that spilled over the sky, the display started, making Naruto stare in obvious pleasure, having rarely seen a fireworks display so close.

"It's so lovely," he breathed out, eyes dancing brightly as Ibiki nodded in agreement, one arm wrapped around the others waist as they watched. Once the firework display was done, the two headed home, still content to stay silent. Once they had arrived, Ibiki escorted a giggling Naruto all the way to his bedroom, making the large man roll his eyes and smile indulgently at him.

"Good night, Naruto-kun," Ibiki drawled, smoothing a thumb over Narutos cheek, making him blush softly at the gesture.

"Thank you for the wonderful night, even though we didn't get to go to the carnival like we wanted to," Naruto said softly, getting a low laugh and a nod.

"Next date, little one, next date," Ibiki promised, getting a bright smile. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against Narutos cheek before standing straight and winking at him. "For now, bed for the both of us. I don't want your Iruka-san to say that I wasn't following the rules," he teased, getting a low, husky laugh.

"That is true. Good night, Ibiki-kun," Naruto hummed, leaning upwards and brushing their lips together before winking and disappearing into his room. Ibiki sighed, smirking to himself and turned to his own bedroom. He had to do something about the sudden curl of arousal and his room had silencing wards just like all of the bedrooms.


	24. Chapter 24

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 24

Word count: 1,169

AN: Another chapter. I would love to kill my sinus' by the by. I can't breath and it's making me grumpy.

* * *

Staring at the group before her, Tsunade rested her arms on her desk before her, lips pulled into a frown. Ibiki was standing behind Naruto, one hand placed on the smaller males shoulder as the blond sat between Sasuke and Shikamaru. The rest of his friends sat or stood, scattered about the room, all looking curious as to why they were there.

"I'm sure you all have better things to do then sit here and listen to me ramble about something or another, I'm sure," she drawled slowly, smirking as she tossed a pen at Kakashis head, making him drop his Icha Icha and pout under his mask. "As long as you guys pay attention and hold your questions to the end, I'll happily answer them after I go over the information," Tsunade continued, leaning forward with a smile.

"So, what did you guys find out?" Naruto asked, looking up at Ibiki with a curious look. The man just smirked and tugged on a bit of blond hair.

"She has the full reports from the ANBU, so pay attention," Ibiki stated, smoothing down the bit of hair when Naruto pouted up at him.

"Fine. Tsunade?" Naruto asked, turning back to her with curiosity shining in his eyes. Everyone else shifted and looked at her with their own looks, all wanting to find out the truth behind the web that was Sakuras lies.

"Alright, so, she didn't exactly lie about what she was researching," the Hokage started, placing the file with all of the information down before her. Everyone was surprised at how thick it was, Ibiki and Naruto knowing that most of it was notes from the ANBU that had gone over the notes, research and diaries that Sakura had kept. "She _was_ trying to figure out how to unseal stuck or closed chakra points and she had found out about that."

"So you've stated before," Shikamaru drawled, remembering some of the conversations that everyone had had.

"Shut up, Shikamaru," Tsunade stated before continuing on. "Anyways, when she asked Naruto to help her, what she did was close off one of his chakra points and injected him with a serum, that has been banned from ever being used again on a fellow nin. What the serum did was create fluxes in his chakra coils that in turn created fluxes in his chakra flow, which disrupted his ability to use the right amount to do what was being asked of him.

"Due to these fluxes, his organs and body were in danger of being destroyed. What we didn't know was that every time Naruto used the Kyubbis chakra, the fox added a little more to Narutos own stores of power, boosting them and purifying his own power. About a tails worth of power, I would estimate," she stated, smiling lightly at the young blond who was staring at his tail with a thoughtful look on his face.

"So, the tail is…?" Naruto asked slowly, looking up from the appendage.

"The tail is the Kyuubis way of keeping the both of you alive. It's quite literally a manifestation of the power that he gave over to you and that you purified with your own chakra. It was either do that, or you both died, from what I gathered from your exams," Tsunade said, smirking and shrugging her shoulder. "Sakura wasn't expecting the Kyuubi to have such a strong survival instinct after so long as a trapped being, but he does apparently."

"I haven't been able to talk with him lately. All I get are snores when I contact him," Naruto admitted, shrugging. "I think that took a lot out of him. The last time we over extended his power, he slept for nearly three weeks."

"So you can talk with the Kyuubi huh?" Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes as Neji reached over and smacked his arm without looking away from Naruto.

"What our dear Shikamaru is trying to say is that we all kind of figured that you could speak with the fox considering you can use its power," Neji said, glaring at his partner. Shikamaru just smirked and shrugged one shoulder as he leant back against his spot on the wall again.

"Speak for yourself. Though, I always figured there was something odd about the way I would find you spaced out sometimes," Kiba said, dragging a clawed hand through his hair, Naruto eyeing them.

"One thing that I am glad about is the fact that I don't have to worry about is the claws. I don't think I could take it," the blond stated, shaking his head as Kiba gave him an affronted look.

"What's wrong with having claws?" he asked, huffing as Naruto gave him a sweet smile.

"Yeah, but then you have to be careful around delicate bits don't you?" he asked, Ino and Hinata bursting into laughter as the Inuzuka blushed a bright red.

"Shut up, foxy," Kiba huffed, pouting as he scratched behind Akumarus ears, getting a happy huff from the large dog.

"To move on, once Sakura is caught again, she has a new charge against her," Tsunade stated, leaning back in her chair, smiling at the group.

"And that would be?" Iruka asked as he continued to take notes on the meeting, looking at the Hokage only occasionally.

"Right now, she has one count of attack with intent to harm, one count of experimenting without permission, several counts, and still growing, of stealing and mishandling paperwork and now…" she trailed off, smirking softly. "Now she has one count of terrorism against the Hidden Leaf and one count of attempted murder against one of our own."

"Damn…" Neji breathed, everyone staring at her.

"So what are your orders in regards to her?" Sai asked curiously. He knew what Danzo was capable of, had given all of his known information about him to Tsunade for that matter. So he wondered how she was going to handle it.

"If you can, take her down but be very careful," Tsunade stated, eyes dark. "If she's with Danzo, be extremely careful. That man has been a pain in my ass since day one and he's very slick with the way he works. Sometimes, I think he makes Orochimaru look like a damn pussy cat," she griped. Naruto snickered softly and smiled at her with a sparkle in his eye.

"So pretty much if you see her, take her down alive. If you see her with Danzo be careful and take both of them down?" Ibiki asked, smoothing a hand through Narutos hair in an attempt to get him to stop baiting Tsunade for the moment.

"That's right. Now, I think that's everything that we need to cover. Get lost, the lot of you," she said, pulling out a bottle of sake. Everyone left the room, knowing that she was going to get drunk, or as drunk as she could get without losing herself.

They had a lot to think about and a lot of preparation to start on.


	25. Chapter 25

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 25

Characters: Neji, Shikamaru and Naruto

Word count: 1,237

AN: I am so close to finishing this story! So very close. Doesn't mean that it's close to being done being posted. Just written. :3

So, here's hoping I finish this story before May yeah?

* * *

"I still say that she's a sociopathic, narcissistic bitch," Itachi snorted, shifting on his couch, laying out on it with a casual grace. Naruto sat in one arm chair while Sasuke sat on a floor cushion with a pile of papers next to him.

It had been three weeks since Naurto had ended up with his ears, nearly two since Sakura had escaped and Naruto and Ibiki had started to date. During that time, Sasuke had taken his place in working in the medical archives, the wedding invitations had been sent off and Itachi had been found out as one of the blonds ANBU guards. Neji and Shikamaru had also found another base, this one even older then the first base and not as well cleaned out.

Some of the information, distorted as it had been, had been rather informational as to what Danzo had been up to, especially since they now had the mans name. They had also found more information on the Uchiha massacre and how Orochimaru had gotten away with doing it amongst a village full of elite and paranoid nins.

"I'm not denying that, but I'm not going to let her run my life so much, especially with me being courted by Ibiki," Naruto snorted, an ear flicking in the mans' direction. I'm also going to enjoy my life, especially since Tsunade-baa-chan told the village yesterday about what had happened."

"The Harunos came up to him and asked for his forgiveness for their daughters' idiocy afterwards," Sasuke drawled, putting aside the paper in his hands. "How the hell do you get two rather good looking people like the Harunos, both of who are stable and rather nice, and get a daughter like Sakura?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Could be she's a throwback in her family. Either that or all the fangirling rotted her brain so completely that she became ugly," Itachi mused as he watched his younger brother curse over the papers. "Father was a throwback. He kinda reminded me of our great times six grandfather actually. From what I read of the mans journals, he and father shared the same thought process."

"Oh goody, our father was a single minded, prejudice jackass," Sasuke snorted as he picked up the next pile of papers. "We knew this, so now worries."

"You're both nuts," Naruto snorted as he picked up a pen and grabbed his notebook to continue writing out any information he remembered from over the years. At the request of Ibiki, he had started to write down every hit, insult and snide remark thrown at him by Sakura.

He was still working on the first 3 months after before their first big mission, nearly a week after he had started.

"You knew this when you kicked Sasukes ass over listening to the old council," Itachi drawled, finally deciding to pick up his book, it seemingly more interesting then his brother cursing over paperwork.

"Tell me again why everyone believed that you would betray the village, Itachi-san?" Naruto asked teasingly.

"Because they were quite like sheep before," came the dry reply. "Why Sasuke agreed to become Orochimarus ass boy, I will never know."

"That's easy, Itachi. I had an ego the size of Fire Country and they used that against me," Sasuke said, distracted by the papers in his hands as Naruto jotted something down. "The seal also really fucked with my will power and ability to think straight."

"It's true. After the snaky one bit him, he became even more of a jackass," Naruto hummed, getting dual snorts from the brothers. "Why did I promise Sakura that I would drag your ass back? Oh yea, because the Third asked me to keep an eye on you because kakashi was unknowing and blind, and Sakura was a fan-girl in a Genin form," He said, voice sarcastic as Sasuke rolled his eyes and Itachi smirked as he flipped the page in his book.

"Shove it, Naruto," Saskue said, the three falling into a comfortable silence between them. Only the sound of paper rustling filled the silence along with an occasional hum of thought. "So, how's the courting going between you and Ibiki-san?" Sasuke asked as he finally stood and stretched.

"It's going well. We've had one date but the last few days have been busy for both of us," Naruto admitted, smiling lightly to himself. "He's been catching up on paperwork and working on the information they had found in the places. On the other hand, I've been working on this memory collection, training and doing as many mini missions as I can until I'm cleared to work the academy."

"Why can't you take missions outside of the village? Don't you usually have a group with you?" Itachi asked. He wondered if Ibiki had told him about that situation before deciding he hadn't.

"Tsundae-baa-chan decided that it would be better if I stayed within the village so it's easier for my guards to watch over me," Naruto replied, jotting down a new date and insult.

"Ah, I see. It would be hard, even for an ANBU, to follow you around when you're trying to be sneaky," Itachi mused, tossing his book aside as Sasuke walked out of the living room. "So, who's your guard today?"

"For now, you and Sasuke. I'm to stay put until either Ibiki or Sparrow and Wolf pop up," Naruto stated. Itachi hummed, extending his senses, finding nothing unusual on the grounds. There wasn't much outside of a few birds, a passing ANBU with the suppressed chakra of a chipmunk, and of course, an actual chipmunk that felt rather pissed about something. Itachi smirked as he moved his arm to rest under his head. "Something funny?" the blond asked in curiosity.

"Pissed off chipmunk," came the snorted reply. Naruto looked up with surprised eyes, blinking a few times before he started to laugh. Sasuke chose that moment to walk back in, plate of sandwiches in hand and looked at his laughing friend.

"Do I want to know?" he asked dryly, giving his brother a long look. Itachi just smiled and crossed his legs, looking more and more like a lounging cat.

"Just told him about the pissed off chipmunk," Itachi hummed, sending Naruto into a new fit of laughter.

"That chipmunk is always pissed off about something or another," Sasuke replied, placing the sandwich plate down on the table before opening a window. A messenger bird swept in and landed next to the still giggling Naruto, ruffling its feathers slightly.

"Looks like a message from Ibiki," the blond finally got out as he pulled off the small roll of paper, running a hand down the birds back. "He's not going to be able to make dinner tonight. He has a new guest," Naruto red, tearing off a piece of paper out of his note book and scrawling a reply. Once his reply was tucked away in the small pouch, the bird clacked her beak before taking off.

"So you're alone tonight?" Sasuke asked, handing out sandwiches to the other two.

"At least until Ibiki gets back, most definitely for dinner. It's all good though," Naruto promised with a smile.

"How so?" Itachi asked, taking a bite out of his food.

"I get to catch up on my reading without some huge man who makes me think naughty thoughts distracting me," Naruto purred, getting choked laughter from the two brothers.


	26. Chapter 26

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 26

Word count: 1,169

Characters: Neji, Naruto, someone else

AN: I would just like to remind readers, if you don't like my story and how I write, I'm not holding a gun to your head. You can click the back button, or if you're like me, close the tab and go back to your others. Flames are disregarded or publicly mocked. I don't do them, I don't care how much you hate to see one character bashed or not. I don't care if you hate the characters that I'm using. Get past it and go find something else. I label my shit correctly so there is no reason for you to try to play "let's see who's bigger" with me. I'll win by default because I don't play that shit.

* * *

"So, you're the one that's gonna watch over me, huh?" Naruto asked in curiosity, tapping his pen on his notebook as Neji stared back at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Is there a problem with that?" Neji asked, voice drawling as he crossed his legs, foot bouncing. Blue eyes rolled as Naruto wrote something down onto his notebook once more.

"No, just curious. I know that Ibiki is with a new guest of his but I don't know what Itachi-kun is up to," Naruto replied, continuing to write easily as he talked with his friend. Neji just watched closely, enjoying the careless grace of his friend, always amazed at how easy the blond could move.

"I believe that Itachi-sempai is on a mission," Neji mused, drawing Narutos up from his papers, an eyebrow raising upwards in curiosity. "He was in full mission gear when I saw him before he left. I believe it was a lead on some of that one guys contacts that are running around."

"I see," Naruto hummed, looking out over the land through the window of his living area of his suite. "Why do you call Itachi-kun sempai?" He asked in curiosity, tilting his head to the side. That startled a laugh from Neji, his eyes wide as he looked to Naruto.

"Why? Mostly as a sigh of respect, but also because he did take over part of my training when he rejoined the ANBU," he explained.

"I see," Naruto hummed, putting his notebook aside. Closing his eyes, he sighed before stretching his limbs. "You know what's odd? I miss Ibiki so very much and I know that he's in the village and that I'll see him later tonight but still I miss him."

"I know how you feel. Its love…" Neji trailed off, looking at his friend who had gone stock still in the process of pulling his legs up onto his chair. "Are you in love with Ibiki-san?" he asked, blue eyes turning to him.

"I really have no idea," Naruto breathed out, shrugging as he ran a hand through his hair before jumping up from his seat.

"Well, from what I'm seeing, you're at the least on the path to full out loving Ibiki-san" Neji mused, watching his friend pace back and forth. "Calm down. It's not a bad thing to fall in love with him."

"I know it's not but still…" Naruto said, sighing and flopping back onto his seat. "What if he doesn't' love me back? I mean seriously? I'm not that much to look at, much less experienced with relationships." Neji gazed at him with an incredulous look on his face before he shook his head.

"You're an idiot sometimes, Naruto," Neji sighed, leaning his head on one hand. "You're gorgeous, even more so since the psycho one did what she did to you. You could go head to head with any good looking male or female and have a good chance of at least tying with them in a looks contest," he said, waving his other hand. "Not only that, but your still sweet, still innocent even after all of the blood you've split over the year. On top of that, Ibiki-san is courting you isn't he?"

"Yeah," Naruto sighed, looking up through his lashes.

"So, that means he has some form of feelings for you. So don't doubt him and his feelings for you. I have no doubt that if he doesn't love you, he wouldn't have started to court you," Neji stated, getting a shy smile from his friend.

"Alright, alright. If anything, I can talk with him soon and find out his feelings that way," Naruto hummed before smirking at his friend. "What about you and your two lovers? Are Iruka-kun and Kakashi-sensei treating you well?" he asked, watching as his normally pale friend blush an interesting shade of red.

"My relationship is going well. They treat me amazingly well and don't expect anything but my happiness," Neji said as his blush finally calmed down.

"Ah, so they don't expect you to be Mr. Housewife, huh?" Naruto teased, tossing a pillow at him with a smug look his face. Neji huffed and tossed the pillow back as he rolled his eyes.

"No, I do that because I like to and I'm used to nit now. Even when I lived at the clan compound, I cleaned and cooked for myself. I rarely trusted another to do it for me and now it's something I enjoy doing," the older male explained with a soft smile on his lips. "I especially like it when they're so happy to see it all clean and done after a long day or a long mission. It makes me feel warm."

"A kind of warmth that spreads through your body, warming you up in a special kind of way," Naruto sighed, the two sharing knowing look between them. "Yeah, I know how you feel. After Ibiki got used to me randomly cleaning his house, he would always smile at me when he saw that I had cleaned on him. I have discovered that he prefers Ninos detergent to the regular nin detergent that you find more often. Leaves less of a scent," the blond share.

"Iruka does the laundry in our house, calls it soothing, but Kakashi is the same way," Neji hummed. "With his detergent preferences that is."

"I've discovered that I have to agree with them on the choice, especially since there are a few all natural. I'm allergic to the green colored brand of it as I've discovered," Naruto hummed, shrugging one shoulder.

"Same with Kakashi and Kiba I believe. All of the Inuzukas actually," Neji shared, eyes narrowing at the window as he activated his Byakgan just as the chakra signature that he had felt disappeared. "Apparently anyone with heightened senses are allergic to them."

"Yeah. So you felt them to? Itachi and I weren't quite sure that there was someone following me around," Naruto hummed, frowning heavily as he pulled a smaller notebook closer, writing a new time and a note down on it.

"And you couldn't tell me so I couldn't be tainted to feel something when I didn't," Neji concluded, Naruto nodding his head.

"They never stay all that long, or at least long enough with a chakra signature before they leave really fast," the blond stated, handing over the notebook to show Neji the sightings and how long they had stayed once discovered.

"So, are they here to watch you? Or are they just here to stalk you?" Neji asked, looking out of the window with a frown.

"That's the question. Itachi couldn't find anything over the last area and Kiba couldn't catch any scent from there," Naruto hummed.

"They're good," Neji mused, Naruto nodding his head with a thoughtful look on his face. "Very, very good. Let's go cook something for now. At the least we'll be closer to that one room."

"Yeah, sounds good to me," Naruto drawled, the two heading downstairs.


	27. Chapter 27

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 27

Characters: Ibiki, Naruto, tiny bit of Sakura

Word count: 1,204

AN: Ahh, finally we are seeing the pink menace! *cackles*

Remember, I don't care if you worship the ground a character walks on. I'm writing what I enjoy and if you don't like it, than press the back button. That is all.

* * *

Smiling as they walked around the village, Naruto laughed lowly as Ibiki drew him towards a book store, his ears flicking at the jingle of the bell. He had wanted to wear his hoody, but his companion had stopped him from doing so. And so far, things had gone well; now one sneering or laughing at him. They had stared, granted, but the stares hadn't been rude or angry, but a mix of curious and happy for him.

Ibiki had told him on the way at out that everyone had been told to let Naruto go about his business and not to mob him, and they were keeping to that request. So far, they had gone to one of Narutos favorite food stalls and bough food for Ibiki to make dinner with, kept in a scroll with a freshness seal. After that, they had dropped by a tea shop that had opened a few months ago but had quickly become popular with its selection of teas.

The blond had shared some of his favorite blends with his scarred boyfriend.

Now they were walking into a bookstore, Ibiki intent on buying Naruto the promised books on interrogation and interrogation techniques along with a few books on genjutsus. The blond pulled his companion to the section they wanted and the two settled in to go over the books, finding their conversation drifting.

"Have you felt our watcher again? I haven't, not since the day with Neji as my guard," Naruto said, opening a book before looking up at Ibiki with a curious look.

"A couple of times, just a flicker late at night," Ibiki admitted, reaching up and drawing a book down as Naruto added his to the small collection that they had started up.

"Why do you think he's having someone watch us?" Naruto asked, eyes scanning over titles as he ran one finger down the spikes. Ibiki knew exactly who the smaller male was talking about, having been the one to put down the rule of not saying Danzos name out in public and only in private only with a silencing jutsu around the area. They also didn't say Orochimarus name due to rumors that the man may not be as dead as they had originally thought.

When Sasuke had heard that one he had laughed himself sick much to his fiancés amusement.

Still, it gave them a good cover in the long run, especially since they didn't want to tip their hand. Only those who were already in the know knew anything was kept updated on what was happening.

"I have no clue. He is either waiting for the right time to make their move or he wants to keep track of you and what you're doing," Ibiki mused. "Which isn't a whole lot all things considered."

"Shut up," Naruto huffed, pouting at the larger man before rolling his eyes. "Though I have a feeling that Sakura is getting very itchy about not doing anything, at least the one I knew would have been. Who knows how much she's changed in the last few weeks, how much her mental state has degraded," he said, tone serious, worried. Iibki ran a hand up and down his companions back, offering his own comfort.

"I can't help but hope that they will make their move and soon," Ibiki muttered, making Narutos lips twitch and him shake his head.

"You and me both," Naruto replied, smirking at his companion as they collected their chosen books and moved to the rather small selection of books on genjutus. "Gods, this is even more pathetic then the libraries collection," he groused, Ibiki nodding his head in agreement.

"We might have to special order to get anything," the bald male said, the two looking over the small collection that was offered, finally settling on two.

"Why do I feel Sparrow nearby?" Naruto suddenly asked as they moved to the counter.

"I have no idea, but I highly doubt that it's a good thing," Ibiki replied, the cashier looking outside nervously as they placed their books down. "What did you see?" the large man asked, staring down at the young brunette.

"I'm not sure but I could have sworn that I saw that Haruno chick," she replied, taking the money for the books after a quick ring up. "I saw a flash of pink running across the roof top over there while I was putting up the new display," she said, the words spurning Naruto into gathering the books quickly and placing them onto a sealing scroll. With a few hand signs, a bit of chakra and a puff of smoke, they were sealed and Naruto was placing the scroll away into one of his money pockets.

"Call your neighbors, put them on alert courtesy of the ANBU department. Spread the word but keep working," Ibiki said, looking out of the window with a scowl on his face. "Make sure you have all forms of ID and all pertinent information within easy reach and your escape routes are clear.

"Yes, Morino-san," the clerk replied, grabbing her phone and starting to dial as the two shinobi slipped out. Looking around, they walked down the road a bit before slipping into an ally way, Sparrow and Wolf landing near them, both kneeling.

"Was Sakura spotted?" Naruto asked, a sliver of worry escaping from his tight control. Sparrow stood, nodding his head, tension oozing off the two ANBU. "Damnit."

"You can say that again," Wolf snorted, getting a lip twitch from Naruto.

"Would have thought you would have a dog mask there," the blond drawled.

"It's taken, so shove it," Wolf growled, Ibiki clearing his throat before the two could really get into it.

"Save it for later. Sparrow, tell me about the sighting. What happened?" Ibiki asked, easily sliding into his role as the head of the ANBU corps.

"No less then 10 minutes ago and no more then 30 minutes has passed since the first confirmed sighting of one Sakura Haruno by Jackel and Lemour, both of who were doing a sweep by the area of your home and land," Sparrow said, voice taunt as his body tensed. "They sent their summons to us with the information as they gave chase. They lost her near the slums about four blocks away from Naruto-kuns old apartment building."

"So for the moment, she's looking for him," Ibiki stated, dual nods his answer. "Go look for her. Remember, do not take Danzo or her on alone, and don't forget, whatever you do, that they are slippery."

"Yes, sir!" the two snapped before disappearing. As Naruto and Ibiki stepped out of the alley, an explosion shook the ground under their feet as civilians started to run away, running towards various shelters. As they moved to bound upwards, heading for the roofs, words hit their ears, floating on a voice filled with anger and broken sanity.

"Come out, come out KYUUBI BRAT! TIME TO DIE!"

It looked as if Sakura and Danzo had made their move and with a rather large and explosive entrance.

"No finesse, " Naruto drawled as the headed to where they could see a very familiar pink haired female standing, waiting for them.


	28. Chapter 28

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 28

Word count: 1,511

Warnings: fighting, cursing, ect.

AN: I'm exhausted! Enjoy or something. Whatever. *yawns*

* * *

Giving his companion a look, Ibiki snarled and pulled out a scroll as Naruto did the same. With a puff of smoke, they had their weapons out, quickly hiding them away on their bodies.

"Come on, let's go deal with psycho bitch and see if the information is right," he said, Naruto nodding as he watched Asuma and Shikamaru bound past them on the roofs over them.

"Looks like everyone is coming," Naruto said as he secured his kunai pouch onto his leg.

"Yeah. Be careful, Naruto. This is your first real battle since you gained your extra appendages," Ibiki stated, pulling on his battle jacket with a swish of leather.

"Have you ever sparred with the Uchihas? It's almost like a mini battle every fucking time," Naruto teased, Ibiki chuckling. "But I will be careful, and stay near someone at all times, just in case."

"Thank you," Ibiki hummed, smiling lightly as he stroked Narutos cheek, pressing a quick kiss to his companions' lips.

"You stay safe to," Naruto stated, the two bounding off to the fight soon after. They made sure to dodge attacks and pockets of smoke, heading for their targets that were watching and waiting for them. Ibiki headed for a blank masked ROOT nin as Naruto moved after Sakura, stopping for a moment here and there to help a fellow nin if they needed it. A man that he knew well was standing next to her, eyes gazing around, smirking as he watched Sakura toss exploding tags attached to kunai and the occasional regular kunais as people dodged and fought around them.

"Ah, there you are," Sakura snarled, her lips pulled into a sneer. Naruto snorted as he landed on the roof near her, ears and tail vibrating, catching the sounds and air vibrations around him.

"Sakura. I'm surprised that you and Danzo came out so soon," he growled, pulling out a kunai and glaring at her. "I thought you would have stayed in your hole in the ground and out of sight."

"Now why would I do that? I have so very much to do, demon," Sakura drawled, eyes glowing with her anger. Naruto raised an eyebrow and smirked as he shook his head.

"You are an idiot really," he sighed before dodging out of the way of her attack. Sakura snarled as she looked up from the damaged roof that had been where Naruto had been standing. She yelped as a kunai flew past her ear, taking off a lock of pink hair.

"You bastard!" she screeched as Naruto stuck out his tongue. Ibiki flickered before Danzo, the crack of skin on skin loud as Danzo flew from his spot, blood flying from his mouth.

"I believe that Narutos parents had been married at the time of his birth," he drawled as Danzo picked himself up from where he had landed, brushing off the dirt from his clothes.

"So, you know who his family is, then?" Danzo asked, lips pulling into a smug smirk.

"If you don't know, you won't hear it from us," Ibiki stated, dodging several thrown kunai, the two disappearing into the fight, the sound of cracks and slams loud in Narutos ears.

"I will kill you!" Sakura screeched, drawing Narutos eyes back to her once more. He raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head in annoyance.

"Sakura, if Itachi and Sasuke couldn't kill me, especially since they are even more power then you, I highly doubt that you'll be able to do so," he taunted. The screech that came from her for that insult made Narutos ears flatten, making him snarl at the pain as she attacked him again, trying to land a hit.

Using a kunai that he slipped out of his pouch, he slashed at her, landing a small hit and opening a cut on her arm. The two continued to exchange blows and insults, cuts opening and bruises forming with each landed hit. The other fighters moved out of the way as several Narutos popped up at random times to help in the attack against Sakura, wearing her down slowly. Landing a harsh kick to her stomach finally, he moved to take her down, yelping in surprised pain as a flash tag was set off near him.

Rubbing at his eyes, whimpering, Naruto finally opened them up, finding that his vision was clearing quickly. Looking around, he snarled at not finding Sakura, spotting her and Danzo disappearing into the smoke, medic nins finally appearing along with several ANBUs to take custody of the downed ROOT nins.

"Naruto-san? Are you alright? Any open wounds?" one medic nin asked him, taking a quick look over his body, finding mostly healed wounds and bruises that were coming up.

"I'm fine. Find the others who need your help," he replied, bounding off to help with the clean up process. Taking down a few ROOT nins that were trying to get away and tying them up for the ANBU that were running around. He found Shikamaru quickly, the man laying on the ground, his eyebrow twitching and a low growl escaping him. "So?" Naruto asked, his friend glaring up at him.

"The asshole broke my fucking leg, after using me as a ball and tossing my around," the shadow used growled, eyes glowing in displeasure.

"Medic! Shikamaru needs to go to the hospital! He has a bruised body and broken leg," Naruto called out, a medic nin appearing next to them.

"Take this please, Nara-san, so we can move you," the nin said, giving Shikamaru a pain pill. He happily took it before flopping back onto the ground as it started to work.

"I saw Kakashi muttering over a cut on his leg, along with Kiba howling about his claws," Shikamaru told Naruto, the younger of the two giving him a smile and bounding off towards where his friend had pointed. He started to snicker when he found Kakashi with a medic, the white clad woman stitching the wound on his leg as she told him to take care of his chakra exhaustion.

"Use your Sharingan to much, didn't you?" Naruto asked teasingly, smirking at his old sensei.

"I can still kick your ass, you smug pain in my ass," Kakashi drawled, getting a bark of laughter from the medic nin.

"Not with this wound, or your exhaustion, Hatake-san," the nin stated as she turned her attention to Kiba, who was staring at his claws. "They weren't cut to the quick, which is good. Have your mother reshape them and watch what you do while they regrow."

"Yes, ma'am," Kiba sighed, flexing his fingers and smiling in a pained way. "Choji is being checked on with Neji. They're both bruised and battered, but okay. I saw Ibiki near them to, Naruto. He looked like he had broken his ribs and has a few new cuts," he told his friend, Naruto patting his shoulder.

"Thanks, Kiba. I'll talk with you later, yeah?" Naruto asked, Kiba nodding his head with a smile, Akumaru padding up to them, shaking off the dirt off of his white fur.

"Have fun," Kiba drawled as Naruto headed off. He found Neji and Choji together, both of them heading to the hospital and medics sending notes to Iruka and Chojis parents. Ibiki was growling and trying to get up despite the medic nins best efforts to keep him on the stretcher.

"Ibik, would you let the medics do their jobs?" Naruto growled, stomping over to them. "Let them heal you and then send a bird to the ANBU so we know what's going on. I'll play your secretary and pack things up if you're stuck in the hospital, have Sparrow bring it to you," he soothed, Ibiki finally huffing lowly and sitting back.

"Make sure that the prisoners are held well, and that no one can get out this time," Ibiki growled, Naruto nodding.

"I'll tell Itachi to do that since he has some actual pull," Naruto promised, leaning over to press a kiss to the others lips. "Now, let the nice medic nins do their jobs."

"I owe you a better date when I get out," Ibiki promised, Naruto smiling and nodding.

"Take care. I have a lot to do before I can rest," he said. Once the medics had taken Ibiki to the hospital, Naruto found Itachi and Sparrow, telling them the plan on what was to happen before they split apart. Once he did the needed rounds that all capable nins were to do, he checked in with Tsunade, giving his verbal report before heading to Ibikis office. Getting his boyfriends note that he was staying in the hospital, he packed everything that Ibiki would need, put up the sign telling the ANBU where he was and sent off the scrolls with Sparrow.

Writing out his own report, he finally went home. Dragging himself up the stairs, Naruto stripped out of his clothes and stepped under a rain of hot water, washing away the scent of smoke, blood and anger off of his skin.


	29. Chapter 29

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Chapter: 29

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Many

Word count: 1,725

AN: And another one. Here, have fluff!

Ahh, I seem to be behind. *frowns heavily* So, here's 29.

* * *

Signing the guest sheet, Naruto smiled lightly at the nurse, heading back to where he knew that Neji was resting. He could still remember the rush to patch everyone up after Sakuras and Danzos attack. The two had escaped but had left several injured and a few of their own ROOT nins to be captured by the ANBU. They were waiting for Ibiki to actually heal enough to interrogate them since Inochi was still confined to his own bed and Anko would have killed them before they got any information that they needed.

He had a feeling that Danzo had only attacked mostly to see how strong everyone was, not expecting such a show of force, especially so quickly. Sakura probably had just wanted to attack Naruto, piss him off and show the village just what kind of monster he was at the time. It didn't work the way she had probably hoped for and they played into Ibikis thoughts that when they did finally attack, that they should be tested by the ANBU and everyone else that had helped in the fight.

The now had new information to incorporate into their information network as they continued to hunt for the bases.

Naruto sighed as he stood outside of Nejis room, Hinata smiling sweetly as she left. He watched as she walked to Chojis room, shaking his head.

"Naruto-kun, come on in," Iruka said, watching as his old student yelped. "We could feel you coming. Neji wants to see you."

"Ah, right, sorry," Naruto said, looking sheepish as he stepped in, smiling gently as Kakashi helped Neji sit up in bed. "Hey there. How are your ribs?" he asked, patting at his pockets before finding a small scroll and pulling it out. "Books, some cross word books and anagram books to."

"I love you, Naruto, I really do," Neji sighed as Iruka took the scroll and unrolled it, several small piles of books appearing on the floor. "Oh, I really love you."

"This should amuse him for a week or so," Iruka drawled, making Naruto chuckle.

"Just enough time for him to be discharged to stay at home," Kakashi chirped as Neji took a pen and crossword puzzle book.

"Still no sex until my ribs heal more," Neji stated, making Kakashi pout at Iruka.

"He can't bend in his usual ways and you know it," Iruka scolded before sighing. "So sex will be limited to hand and blow jobs with him."

"I plan on playing voyeur," Neji hummed, already completely engrossed in his book, occasionally jotting a word down.

"I really do not want to know what you do behind closed doors," Naruto grumped, Iruka chuckling and smoothing a bit of blond hair down.

"Are you going to be seeing the others?" Iruka asked, Naruto smiling and nodding his head as he pulled out three other scrolls, waving them.

"I'm seeing Choji next. After him, I'm checking on Shikamaru to give him his groceries that he got me to pick up since he's not getting out tonight. Ibiki is last since he's gonna be here for the full three weeks while he's healing, so I need to get a few things signed," he replied, blushing.

"Things?" Kakashi asked, eyes sparkling.

"It's time to renew his automatic paying for various bills, such as electricity and he needs to pay the last of the bill for the solar panels," Naruto drawled, tucking the scrolls away. "On top of that, paperwork is being sealed into scrolls so he can do that to."

"So cruel to him," Neji said, smiling as Naruto gently hugged him and said their goodbyes, heading for Chojis room. Knocking on the door, he was waved in, the man within smiling brightly.

"Naruto! Good to see you," Choji greeted, his usual voice tempered by his wounds.

"You sound better," Naruto said, sitting down next to his bed, pulling out a slightly longer scroll then the others. "I got permission to bring a few things. Just apply a bit of chakra to the individual seal and you'll get a treat."

"Thanks, man," Choji groaned, Narutos lips twitching slightly.

"It's not a problem," Naruto replied, waving a hand. Choji smiled and unraveled the scroll a bit, unsealing the first seal and smiled even brighter at the sight of a very familiar bento.

"You got my mom to cook for me, yeah?" Choji asked as he picked up the bento, opening it up and snapping the chopsticks.

"Yeah. She put like 6 of those in there, all healthy and useful to help your chakra and body heal," Naruto said. "Your nurse said that you'll get out next week, on Monday, but you're gonna be staying with your mom for a few days since Shika can't help you and he's gonna be stuck here for the full healing time, like Ibiki," he drawled. Choji chuckled around the bite in his mouth, shaking his head.

"Poor Shika," he hummed, smiling lightly as Naruto shrugged and re-rolled his scroll for him, placing it close by.

"I got a bunch of things for him to do," Naruto stated, getting a knowing look. "Your mom and dad have cleaned out your apartment, by the way, of food at least. I have your plants so I can repot them."

"Be careful with my herbs, Naruto," Choji warned, his friend snorting and rolling his eyes.

"I know, I know," he drawled, Choji smiling. There were few people he trusted to treat his cooking herbs right, especially when it came to repotting them and keeping them alive for him. "I need to head off and drop off Shikamaru-kuns scroll before I stop to see Ibiki."

"Say hi to Shika for me would ya? And that I'll be by before I'm let out," Choji said, Naruto nodding as he stood. Leaving his friend to his lunch, he headed to where he found Shikamaru lounging in his bed, looking bored with everything as he read a bingo book.

"Anything interesting?" Naruto asked teasingly as he walked into the room, placing Shikamrus scroll down onto his bed side table. "Choji says hi and he's gonna come around when he can," he continued, Shikamaru shifting and putting his bingo book aside.

"Cool," he grunted, sitting up from his half laying position with a wince. His leg was in a brace, the bone having been knitted together, but was still weak for another two weeks as his bruised back and muscles from being tossed around by various ROOT nins healed. "I take it you've brought me some entertainment."

"Yeah. Mind teasers, some of the paperwork you need to do, that sort of thing," Naruto drawled, handing over the scroll with a knowing smirk on his lips. "Tsunade said that if you don't finish it while you're healing, she's going to sic a sex deprived Genma on you."

"How troublesome," Shikamaru moaned, dropping his head onto the wall behind him. Naruto snickered and patted his head.

"Poor Shikamaru. So tormented," Naruto teased, crossing his arms with laughing eyes, Shimkamaru coming as close as he could to a pout, unsealing the scroll and letting everything appear on the table.

"Gonna go see the others?" Shikamaru asked, picking up a pile of papers, flipping through them.

"Ibiki actually. I've seen Neji and Choji, and everyone else is at home," Naruto replied. Shikamaru hummed and nodded, eyes scanning over the papers. One of Narutos ears flicked towards the door before turning his eyes towards the nurse who was scowling heavily at him. "Your nurse is here."

"Yeah, I can feel her," Shikamaru drawled, not even caring that she was stalking over.

"You're supposed to be resting," she snarled, reaching out to grab the papers, blinking when Naruto grabbed her wrist.

"You are not allowed to touch anything that is handed to a Shinobi when it deals with a Shinobis job," Shikamaru drawled as he pulled out a pen to start filling things out. "After all, you're a civilian, so don't think you can supersede the Hokages orders."

"You heard the man," Naruto drawled, the nurse yanking her arm away with a glare before stalking off to complain to her boss.

"I hate dealing with civilian nurses," Shikamaru grumped, making his friend snicker lightly.

"Why do you have a civilian nurse anyways?" Naruto asked as Shikamaru placed a couple of pages aside.

"I don't. She keeps popping up and trying to push herself on my treatment," Shikamaru stated.

"Good luck with that. I'm off to see Ibiki now," Naruto said, shaking his head and walking out of the room, Shikamaru chuckle following after him. Sighing, he headed down the hallway to a highly warded area, feeling the sizzle as he passed through them to his suitor.

Coming to stand before the door, he smiled at the sight of Ibiki. He was wearing his usual skull cap, bandages peeking out from under his hospital gown as he read over a scroll, a few boxes scattered around the bed. He was hard at work even as pillows helped keep him comfortable even with broken ribs and a battered body.

"Naruto, have something more interesting then Wolf's rather long and detailed filled report?" Ibikis voice drew Naruto out of his thoughts, blue eyes looking up from the box they had come to rest on.

"Maybe." Stepping in, he closed and locked the door, ensuring their privacy before walking over to his partner, perching on the edge of the bed. "You have bills to be paid and a few books to read when you're not working on your paperwork," he said, waving the scroll. Ibiki smirked and took it, humming in thought as he unsealed it, allowing the items to appear.

Shifting through them, he placed the books aside and picked up the bills, looking over each one before signing them. Naruto watched with a soft smile dancing on his lips, eyes half lidded as he leant back on one hand. He enjoyed watching the large man move, even if it was slower then usual due to his injuries.

As he placed the last bill aside, Ibiki smirked and gazed at Naruto, reaching out to yank him down. Wrapping his arms around the squirming man, he chuckled as Naruto finally found a comfortable spot for the both of them.

"There, much better," he rumbled, smoothing a hand over Narutos side as he smiled softly.

"I missed you. It's been odd not to have you in the house," Naruto pouted, Ibikis hand stroking his neck with surprising gentleness.

"I've been gone for two days," Ibiki said, watching a light blush spread over Narutos cheeks.

"I got used to you being around, I can't help it," Naruto huffed, scratching at his chest with his nails. Ibiki laughed lightly and pressed a kiss to blond locks.

"When I get loose, I'll take you out for a new date," he promised.

"Rent a few movies, make a pizza and cuddle me, and I'll be good," Naruto said.

"Sounds good to me," Ibiki drawled.


	30. Chapter 30

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Chapter: 30

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Sakura, Danzo, Night (you'll see who this is)

Word count: 1,566

AN: Ahhh…old man smut? Yeah, I don't know where it came from. I twitched afterwards. Enjoy.

By the way, the last chapter, Chapter 40, of this story will be posted September 28, 2012. :D Yay!

* * *

"Fuck." The snarled work surprised Sakura from her contemplation of her bruised ribs, the blacks, blues and greens spreading from just under her breast to down her hips. She had forgotten that Naruto could hit hard enough to break a bone or two himself.

"What now?" she snarled at him, Danzo glaring at her as the ROOT medic finished placing on a new bandage over his wounds and left quickly.

"That was a debacle. Not only have we lost some of our top operatives, but we had to move, again, despite what we were able to learn," he snarled, Sakuras green eyes flashing as she snarled and turned fully, letting her shirt fall.

"Oh, fuck you! How were we supposed to know just how strong he is, much less everyone else! Apparently our information is out of date," she sneered, stalking up to the desk and slamming her hands down on it.

"Our information? More like yours since most of it did come from you," he drawled, eyes dark as he stood. Sakura had to admit that the man was fit, not good looking but fit, very strong and smart. But he was still an asshole.

"Mine! What the fuck do you mean by that?" she screeched, eyes widening.

"Yes, yours! Apparently you've spent so much time fucking around and eyeing the damn Uchiha that you didn't see how much they learned!" he snarled, eyes flashing as she snorted.

"They're all weak! And so were your so called best," she huffed. Danzo snarled wordlessly and grabbed a fist full of pink hair, tugging on it as she snarled back, hands scrambling to pull clothes off. They had fucked before, always after an argument that had heated to a point that they had to release the heat and anger in someway.

Her fingers found his length, pulling hard on it as his fingers ripped her panties off. Hauling her up onto the desk, Danzo pushed her onto her back before sliding into the wet heat offered to him. Not bothering to let Sakura adjust, he started to move, the sound of skin slapping against skin harsh in their ears along with their grunts. Sakura scratched at his back, Danzo adding new bruises on her hips and inner thighs.

Their climaxes were fast in coming, Sakura yelling her pleasure as Danzo growled his, his length twitching in her as he spilled. Panting, the two relaxed, his hands resting on the desk as she let her eyes close.

"It looks as if you're going to have to hope that your people will stay under the radar so we can get new information," Sakura drawled finally, Danzo sliding out of her with a slick pop. Not bothering to zip up, he pulled out a rag and wiped his cock off as Sakura sat up and used the remains of her panties to clean up.

"Yes, I suppose so. I will have to talk with a few of my people to call my very best back from their missions," Danzo drawled, watching her smooth down her skirt once more. He idly wondered why he kept her around. She wasn't the best lay he ever had; a particular ROOT nin held that honor and a place in his bed. She was always pushing his buttons, as if she always had to piss someone off. She couldn't seem to stop herself.

"Aren't some of them watching the leftover Oto nins?" Sakura asked, tossing her underwear away and sitting down. "Are you sure you can afford to do that?"

"I don't have much choice about it. A lot of information is second hand about everyone in the village, especially since everything went odd after Orochimarus attack on the village and Tsunade took over," he drawled, rubbing at his wound, feeling his body stiffen and throb from the beating he had taken from Ibiki when he had gone up against the man. "Yesterday was a fiasco of epic proportions. We were far from ready apparently, and I wonder just why we thought now would be a good time to attack."

"Because if we had left it any longer, then they would have found our last base anyways. This way, we have time to move and call in people now," Sakura drawled, eyes thoughtful. Danzo hummed and stood up, moving to one wall. Opening a panel, he was quick to pull out a large bottle of sake along with a cup before once more sitting down.

"We're going to have to work out a new plan, watch them even closer," he stated, pouring some of the sake before sliding it back with a sigh. "I suggest you go rest and heal. I have much to do before tomorrow, including calling my people back."

"Of course," Sakura drawled, walking out of his office, door slamming behind her. Danzo snorted and poured another drink, sipping at it instead of chugging it down. He had a bit of time before his top operative would arrive with his current report, telling him what had been going on in the last few days. The attack had been a fiasco, making him moan in remembrance, especially with how Naruto had pissed Sakura off so easily.

It was amazing to him just how much she had fallen on the mental scale of things. Rubbing at his head, Danzo wondered if she had ever been analyzed by a psychological medic nin and if he could get a copy of the report.

Writing a note down, he looked up as his top nin came in, closing the door behind him. Danzo nodded and trailed a curious look over the blank face mask and pure black outfit that acted more like a second skin than a uniform. The only thing that stopped it from being pornographic was the large belt that fell over his groin and ass, loose at the bottom and tighter at the top. It was covered in seal marks, making it into a weapons belt instead of just a fashion statement.

"Hello, Night-san," Danzo greeted, waving a hand for him to sit down across from him. He could tell that Night was sneering at the chair that Sakura had sat up on before perching on t he other chair.

"Danzo-san," Night returned, leaning forward so that he could rest his arms on his knees. Danzo could feel hiding eyes gaze at him as a blank mask met his own gaze.

"Can you tell me anything about the newest generation of nins?" he asked, sitting back in his chair, sake cup in one hand as he waited.

"Not much. Their information is highly guarded, much like all information on Kohanas ninja force. The teams have gotten down right paranoid about their abilities though, especially after the Chunnin exams were attacked," Night stated. "Since most of them are in clans, they're even more paranoid about keeping their information on techniques and abilities secret or as much as you can in this village."

Nights voice was a rumble, easy on the ears but even the barest shift in the tone could send people running and screaming in fear or make them search for a way to make him keep talking. Behind his office door, the ROOT nins voice was without reflection of his emotions and Danzo like it.

"Damn Orochimaru. Had to make my plans harder right?" Danzo growled, draining his cup before putting it down. "I'm trying to gut the rot from this damn village and now everyone is watching everyone else with a hairy eyeball," he grumped. Night snickered and shook his head as he sat back, the picture of long legged relaxation.

Danzo knew from experience that Night would be able to kill or destroy a person from his sprawled position.

"Sir, things are there to be found, you have but to look for it," he stated, Danzo blinking at the man. "You just have to watch them, watch how they move. They have a lazy grace about them that comes from years of practice, training and missions. Even Naruto. Especially him. Even as a child, he had more grace due to his personal life and what he's gone through in life."

"I see. So they're all deadly. But how deadly?" Danzo mused, Night not saying a word. "Night-san, I need you to do something for me. Get any and all psychological reviews for one Sakura Haruno, civilian, academic and nin. I should have done this before but I didn't have time if I wanted to get her out."

"I can do that," the masked nin stated, standing up finally.

"Good. Report back to me as soon as you possibly can," Danzo stated, pouring a fresh cup of his drink. Night walked over to the door and paused with his hand on the knob.

"Sir, you asked me how dangerous they were," he said, Danzo looking up with dark eyes. "They are the most dangerous Shinobies and kunochis that you will ever come across. They will live long lives; they will be feared and respected. They will create a new generation that will bring peace like you won't believe."

"So you're saying…" Danzo trailed off, eyes narrowing as Night opened the door.

"They are the future of this village and will destroy the rot. They are our saviors," was the statement before he stepped out of the office, the door closing behind him.


	31. Chapter 31

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 31

Characters: various

Word Count: 1,673

AN: I am sorry that this is so late! It was sent to the lovely, sweety known as cutsycat from Y for a beta job. And then yesterday (Sunday), I was sleeping for most of the day, writing the rest.

So, again, sorry for this being late.

**Review: Foxfire: I'm glad that you enjoyed the story and hope you keep reviewing. :D**

* * *

Three days. Three long days of being alone beyond his guards and the occasional visit to Shikamaru and Ibiki in the hospital. Sparrow had nearly attached himself to Naruto as the young Shinobi went about his business playing Ibiki's secretary.

Sighing, Naruto played with his pen and looked down at the notebook that he had started to use as an outlet for his thoughts. He couldn't go to Jiraiya, Tsunade or Iruka, not wanting to take them away from the rebuilding of the damaged buildings and businesses, so he used the notebook. He had started with his thoughts about his time with Ibiki and his courting and had worked his way through Sakura's betrayal and was working on the Uchihas.

When he had found out about the reason why Itachi had left, Naruto had worked to get the elder Uchiha out of his suicide mission.

The mission had been simple: Get into the Akatsuki and destroy them from the inside out.

Unfortunately the 3rd Hokage had died before he could do so and Itachi had ended up stuck. Naruto had found the information hidden amongst all of the guard and life information about him. Once that had been found, he and Tsunade had made plans to tell Sasuke and to pull Itachi out. It had taken then nearly a year to get both of the Uchihas back.

Since Itachi had been working under the 3rd's orders with Ibiki as his emergency contact, he had been debriefed by the interrogation expert, cleared and returned to duty while being instated as the Uchiha clan head.

Naruto had gotten the chance to explain everything to Sasuke, including that it had been Orochimaru that had worked hard to get his greasy paws on an Uchiha with a Sharingan and that it had been someone unknown who had pushed Danzo into ordering the death of the clan. Sasuke had thrown a fit, sliced off Orochimarus head and gone back to the village with him. That had been nearly two years ago when they had been 17 years of age.

Sighing, Naruto closed the notebook and stood up to stare out of the study window. The house had been cleaned once more, Ibiki's desk organized, all of Naruto's paperwork done, completed ANBU paperwork filed at the ANBU headquarters and several notebooks filled already. But now he was bored, his mind dancing with thoughts of what had happened.

"What a nutsy few years," Naruto huffed, shaking his head with a frown. His ears twitched as he thought of what was going to happen once it got out that Sakura had turned traitor. The other villages would have to put out an amended Bingo Book, again, while some worked to get her to work for them.

But why she had fucked up so bad was…it had been a surprise at the time, but now that Naruto had had time to think about it, it wasn't surprising. She had always been a Sasuke fan, one of the scariest of them all, beating out Ino, When Sasuke had left, it seemed as if all she wanted was her friend back. But her diaries had shown that she thought that he had been driven away by Tsunade and others who were dirt compared to him.

As the months and years had progressed, from whatever his friends had observed, she had gotten past her extreme 'love' for Sasuke. She had dated Lee for a time before splitting, the problems happening around them taking most of their time. But once Sasuke and Itachi had come back, she had seemingly slipped back into her old ways as a Sasuke fangirl.

All that had happened was her mask cracking before shattering with her last stunt.

Groaning, Naruto rubbed at his face, moving to flop down onto the couch, letting his legs stretch out. Sparrow gazed at him from the doorway before shaking his and going about his business.

On top of it all, a new love interest had popped up with Ibiki. The warmth of their relationship spread through Naruto, tugging at his heart and making him smile contently. Brushing his fingertips over his lips, he chuckled lightly and shook his head as he started to watch Sparrow walk back and forth outside of the study, checking traps and setting a few more.

Ibiki had turned out to be a complete sweetheart when he put his mind to it and had been showing that side of himself every chance he got. Shifting onto his side, Naruto laid his head on the arm of the chair as he continued to think.

The dates and days with Ibiki were perfect for him, for them, but he was starting to cry about how much he had to work himself off. It was as if just hearing his boyfriend's name would send heat flaring through him and make him half hard. He had no doubt that his older companion was much in the same boat as him. He also had no doubt that they would end up in bed, finally giving into the need that flared hot and hard between them.

He wanted it, but he didn't want to lose their easy friendship and closeness, having seen it happen before.

"Naruto, do you want to go see Ibiki-san?" Sparrow asked, standing in the doorway as he pulled off his mask. Going from the ANBU named Sparrow to the Shinobi named Raidou always fascinated Naruto, making him smile.

"Yeah, sure," Naruto hummed, sitting up on the couch as Raidou placed his mask down on a sealing scroll, along with his ANBU cloak. He was wearing the basic ANBU clothes, which he pulled a looser pair of pants and his vest over.

"Good, cause he's about ready to toss his current nurse out the damn window," Raidou drawled, getting a laugh from Naruto.

"Sounds about right with him," Naruto drawled. Shaking his head, he walked out of the house and towards the hospital, the two happy with the silence between them. Walking into the hospital, Raidou headed for the archive section to speak with Sasuke while Naruto went to find Ibiki, finding him scowling at a nurse who was trying to collect his scrolls. "Man, you would think that you would know for a nurse working for a bunch of nins not to touch scrolls," he said, taking them and placing them back down.

"And you are?" the nurse huffed, eyes widening as Naruto leant over and pressed a kiss to Ibiki's cheek.

"A nin and Ibiki's boyfriend. Why are there so many civilians working in a nin hospital?" Naruto asked, Ibiki shrugging. "I'm going to have to talk with Tsunade-baa-chan about this soon."

"Later. For now, help me find the finished scrolls and paperwork," Ibiki drawled as the nurse huffed off, making them shake their heads.

"How are you feeling, Ibiki?" Naruto asked, smiling softly as they went through the scrolls.

"Better. They've been able to heal more of my wounds," Ibiki drawled, placing the finished paperwork away. Once that was done, Naruto crawled onto the bed and curled up against him with a sigh of pleasure. Reaching up, he ran a hand through soft blond hair as he yawned and relaxed. "Haven't been sleeping very well, huh?" he asked.

"No, I got used to you being around at night," Naruto pouted, flashing a pair of puppy eyes up at him. Ibiki chuckled lowly and smoothed a hand down his back.

"I'll be home in the next few days," Ibiki promised, getting a soft smile from Naruto.

"Ibiki…how could I not see what was going on with her? Was I really that blind?" Blinking and looking away from the papers in his hands as Naruto shifted, Ibiki gazed down at him with a raised eyebrow. They had fallen into a comfortable silence, Ibiki reading over reports while he stroked over Naruto's hair as he rested.

"With who? Haruno?" he asked, placing his papers aside and shifting to stare at Naruto.

"Yeah," Naruto said, gazing up at him with a worried look on his face.

"You weren't blind. It looks as if she was good at hiding behind her mask. According to her psych evals, the ones that I can get at, she seemed smart, strong, the usual quirks a nin has but sane," Ibkik drawled. "With you, you were always face to face with her, you were always seeing it."

"I see," Naruto sighed, shifting and stretching before squeaking when Ibiki dragged him to straddle his lap. "'Biki," he squeaked, getting a low laugh.

"I have missed being able to kiss you," Ibiki hummed, rubbing a thumb over Naruto's full bottom lip, enjoying the gentle blush. Naruto could remember the first time that they had kissed and all of the ones that followed his companion was always gentle, but passionate with tasting and drawing pleasure from it.

"I missed it too. The little pecks aren't enough," Naruto pouted, leaning forward to brush their lips together, blue eyes darkening as Ibiki ran his hands down his back. Large hands stroked over the dip of his back before cupping his ass, squeezing until he squeaked.

"Ah, I missed that too," Ibiki chuckled, eyes dancing with pleasure as their lips brushed together. Naruto hummed and brushed his fingers over the other's jaw. Leaning forward, the scarred man sealed their lips together and nipped at the bottom lip that called to him.

Naruto sighed and firmly pressed their lips together, Ibiki growling lowly as lean arms wrapped around his neck. Stroking his tongue over the full lips, the scarred man tasted his boyfriend fully as they stroked and teased the slick muscles. Their bodies pressed together as they tried to fulfill their need for each other.

Naruto was the first to pull away, panting through swollen lips as he gazed at a smugly leering Ibiki who was holding him close.

"When you get home, I will be giving in," Naruto breathed, unsurprised when Ibiki growled and started another kiss that was deep and fierce, making him mewl.


	32. Chapter 32

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Chapter: 32

Fandom: Naruto

Word count: 1,151

AN: I'm going to so crash hard here. Just watch me.

* * *

Closing the door behind him, Itachi watched as Sasuke took up a position next to the window before trailing his dark eyes over the assembled people. Tsunade was sitting behind her desk, chin perched on one hand as she scowled at something written in a report. Jiraya was scowling at his wrapped up ankle that was propped up on the table before him. Kakashi was being Kakashi, reading his Icha Icha as he leant against a wall.

"You requested us, Tsunade-sama?" Itachi asked, drawing her eyes from the papers.

"Yes. We have a few things to discuss and since the two ANBU who are working this are down, it's just us," Tsunade said, crossing her legs as she sat back.

"About?" Kakashi asked as he tucked his book away again.

"First, Sakura and Danzo. I had someone watching her files, just in case someone tried to pull them. One of Ibikis spies pulled the fake files on her. Her mental exam files to be precise, which gave us the legal right to read them," Tsunade stated, holding up the report. "From what he was able to slip us, Danzo is worried about Sakuras sanity."

"She's always been a bit unhinged," Sasuke drawled, shaking his head.

"Where's your fiancé?" Jiraya asked, eyebrows furrowing as he looked at Sasuke.

"At work with an ANBU guard watching over her. He's been helping to digitalize the medical archives, so it's not so hard for him to watch her while I'm not there," Sasuke replied.

"Back to Sakura please," Tsunade stated. "I've read over a few of her mental exam files and they all agree so far. She was a heavy Sasuke fan girl but sane enough to stay active as a nin. Apparently she has been seeing a retired Shinobi therapist and I have those files being gone through now."

"What are they saying about her?" Jiraya asked, Tsunade shifting through the files on her desk, finding what she wanted.

"That she was as sane as anyone, but there was an almost maniacal quality to her feelings about a few people, including Naruto and Sasuke," Tsunade sighed lowly. "He could never quite pin down why she was so maniacal about them. Or so his report says."

"Well, we knew she didn't completely like Naruto, especially since he handed Sasuke his ass so many times. But I could have sworn she had lost her so called love for Sasuke," Kakashi drawled, blinking down at Sai when he popped up in a light puff of smoke.

"Ah, but our dear psychotic one has always wanted to be 'Mrs. Sasuke Uchiha'. As a ROOT nin I was supposed to tell Danzo all about my teammates, but there were a lot of things that I left out of my reports," Sai stated, handing over a scroll with a nod.

"Where have you been?" Jiraya asked, his eyes dark as he sat up a bit more.

"I've been touching base with a few contracts inside of ROOT and a few that have their fingers on and in the information line," Sai stated, smiling lightly. "All on Tsunade-sans orders by the way."

"Calm down, Jiraya. What did they say?" Tsunade asked.

"They couldn't tell me much but they did tell me that those two fuck on occasion, but he still takes his lover to bed," Sai hummed.

"I did not need to know about an old guys sex life," Sasuke moaned, rubbing his hand over his face. "Gah! Old guy fucking!"

"Now I know how to torture you when you piss your wife off," Itachi snickered.

"Get gored," Sasuke huffed, glaring at his brother as the others snickered with the byplay between them.

"How is Naruto-kuns and Ibiki-sans relationship going?" Sai asked suddenly.

"It's actually going rather well, even with everything going on," Kakashi answered with a smile.

"They've been going on dates, being as cute as Ibiki can be," Jiaray chirped, eyes sparkling as he sat back, arms behind his head. "They've also been around each other near constantly and yet they haven't had a single fight. They're a good balance between each other."

"That sounds good. Where is Ibiki-san and Narkut-kun now?" Sai asked, eyes turning to Itachi.

"Naruto-kun is currently working for the ANBU offices so he can help Ibiki-san, who is still in a hospital bed at the moment," Itachi drawled. "He's also being stalked by one of the ANBU at all times."

"Are you worried that Sakura may come back?" Sai asked, frowning at that possibility. Itachi shook his head and sat down on the couch next to Jiraya.

"Nothing like that, Sai-kun. They're there to help keep Naruto-kun from falling into a depression," Itachi stated, eyes bored, barely hiding his worry for the young man under the mask.

"That and to also make sure he gets some much needed sleep, despite how much he's hating sleeping without Ibiki-san near by. If Naruto-kun had his way, he'd cuddle up to his suitor at night. But the nurses wouldn't be particularly happy with that."

"They didn't like that he had to remind them that even nin medics aren't allowed to touch any paperwork that the patient is doing," Tsunade chuckled, eyes half lidded. "I went over earlier to chew them out, especially since most of that paperwork is sensitive things."

"I see," Sai said, blinking as he thought. "Are they talking about bonding yet?" he asked as Tsunade started to go through scrolls and papers.

"Not to my knowledge," Jiraya stated. "Then again, I've been hunting down Sakura and Danzo."

"If they talked about it, it wasn't around me," Itachi hummed, playing with a kunai as he continued to look bored.

"I haven't had much time to really talk with them with the search for Sakura," Tsunade stated, "so I have no idea."

"Same here. I've been working, bonding with my lovers," Kakashi drawled.

"Getting said lovers to play out some Icha Icha scenes more like it," Sasuke drawled, smirking. "When Ibiki first filled out the request to court, Naruto said that he hoped it would end in a bonding but he would be happy with just being with Ibiki as his lover. The man treats him like the rarest rose without suffocating him from what I've seen," he continued, flicking his wrist and rolling his eyes. No one was fooled; all of them seeing the slight smile that danced on Sasukes lips.

"It's cute. Sometimes cavity inducing sweet," Itachi hummed. "Kinda like you and Mis-chan."

"I will hurt you again," Saskue snorted, pouting and trying to hide it. Itachi just smirked and wave his kunai at his brother.

"You'll try, dear brother, you'll try," he teased.

"Alright, you two, stop poking at each other," Tsunade snorted, the two smirking at her.

"Yes, mother," they chorused together.

"Like school children," Tsunade moaned, rubbing a hand over her face as the others laughed, relaxing with smiles all around.


	33. Chapter 33

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 33

Pairing/Character: Ibiki, Itachi, Naruto

Word Count: 1,204

AN: Ahhh, another chapter down! Yes, I am so good. And tired. Seriously tired.

Okay, reviews for those who review anonymous like.

**Naruto fan: Shut the heck up! I post every two weeks. That will NOT change any time soon. I remove reviews that say the same thing over and over again.**

**Either way, I'm glad you enjoy.  
**

**Foxfire: Aww! You're so cute! *holds out giant cookie for the fiery one* I post on this story every two weeks. I have another story that I alternate with. :D  
**

**Jasmine: I have written my story completely. Things happen. Kyuubi awakening is not one of them. I am working on the second story. I will post one day. When I do post it shall show attention to the little things I've left hanging.  
**

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Putting away the last of the blankets, Naruto looked up and had to smile at the sound of Ibiki grumbling as he walked in from the front door, Itachi snickering in the background. Shaking his head, he headed downstairs to greet the two who were standing in the hallway, the Uchiha pulling off Ibikis shoes for him.

"Welcome home," Naruto hummed, waiting for his friend to move so he could hug his larger partner. He sighed quietly as the spicy under scent that was Ibiki surrounded him, the man chuckling as he wrapped his arms around Narutos slim back.

"It's good to be home," Ibiki rumbled, nose buried in blond locks. "I hate hospitals."

"And that's why Tsunade-sama allowed you to leave after only 2 weeks instead of the month," Itachi drawled, heading towards the kitchen.

"That and I kept threatening the nurses," Ibiki stated, causing Naruto to laugh and smile up at him.

"You glad that they were able to fully heal your ribs?" he asked, drawing Ibiki into the study, making the man take a chair.

"Very. Now all I have to do is train my poor ribs back into shape," Ibiki teased, Naruto snorting as he flopped into his own seat.

"Right. You get pudgy after 2 weeks," he drawled, getting a bark of laughter from the scarred man.

"Indeed," Itachi walked in, placing a cup down next to Ibiki, along with a pill.

"I also need to take a calcium supplement for the next two weeks," he grumped, Naruto and Itachi sharing an amuse look between them.

"I'll make sure you take it," Naruto promised, getting a smile from Ibiki. "And that you don't over work yourself."

"My very own foxy nurse," Ibiki snorted, getting a low laugh as Naruto smacked his arm.

"That was so very bad," Naruto whined, Ibiki smirking before pulling him into his lap. The young man squeaked and wiggled in his lap.

"But so very worth it," Ibiki chuckled, nuzzling into his neck. Itachi was quick to leave the two alone, knowing his presence wouldn't be welcomed. "I missed being able to touch and hold you without someone walking in on us," he said, voice low and rumbling. Narutos ear twitched against the strong chest from where he had laid his head.

"Same here," Naruto hummed, moving with Ibiki as the man stretched out his legs, leaning back in the chair. "So what do we do next?" he asked quietly. Ibiki shifted slightly, meeting blue eyes.

"What do you want to do?" Ibiki asked curiously. Naruto blushed gently and played with his companion's shirt before looking up through his lashes.

"I think that I want to bond as soon as we can," Naruto finally said, Ibiki blinking down at him. "So?"

"I think that's a perfect idea. We're gonna need at least a month to get the kimonos done," Ibiki answered, mind whirling.

"I talked with Tsunade-baa-chan a couple of days ago about the best places to go for them actually," Naruto said, shifting. Handing Ibiki his calcium pill, he found the three brochures to look through them with the older man.

"I've used The Leaf Vein before for the rare thing I need to go to," Ibiki drawled, poiting to one as he put his glass down after taking the pill.

"You mean for all those meetings with the Dynamo that you need to attend," Naruto teased, Ibiki squeezing him with a smirk.

"Just wait until you become the Hokage, you'll need to meet him to," was the teasing reply, making Naruto moan in distaste and wrinkle his nose.

"So you're going to support me in my quest to be Hokage?" Naruto asked, looking upa t Ibiki with wide eyes.

"I have from the start, I just wasn't able to show it until you turned old enough. And even then, as the head of the interrogation unit and the ANBU, it had to be a quiet support," he said, rubbing the base of one ear.

"Thank you for backing me up," Naruto said, smirking softly up at the man, a hand coming up to cup the back of Ibikis head. Pulling him down, Naruto brushed their lips together, the larger man growling lowly and wrapping his arms around the lean waist.

Deepening the kiss, Ibiki dragged his tongue over the full lips pressed against his, feeling them open and allow his tongue into the sweet mouth. The two moaned at the first real taste of each other in the last two weeks, tongues playing and pressing against each other. Naruto sighed and tugged at the others skull cap, removing it from the scarred head. The texture under his fingers had once been odd to him, at least for a bit of time. But to Naruto, the feelings of the dips and welts that he stroked were perfect to him, something no one else had.

Pulling away from the kiss, Naruto patned softly, feeling Ibiki trail his lips over his jaw and neck, drawing out a soft moan. Chuckling, Ibiki trailed his hands down to the strong thighs and got his fiancé to straddle his lap. Their groins brushed, hard length brushing hard length hard enough to pull a whimper of need from Naruto as he rolled their hips together.

"Do you trust me?" Ibiki breathed into one pointed ear, feeling it flicker.

"Yes," Naruto hummed, blue eyes meeting dark ones. Smirking, Ibiki used one hand to undo their pants, releasing their lengths. Shoving both of their pants down a bit, he curled his hand around their pricks, stroking. Naruto gasped, hands coming down to cling to his fiancés shoulders at the new feeling.

They had kissed and rubbed, but never had they touched each other in such a way. Yet Naruto could only enjoy the shock of pleasure, eyes falling shut as he rocked with Ibiki, dark eyes watching as he moaned and panted.

"That's it, enjoy this," Ibiki growled, leaning forward to taste the sweet skin of Narutos neck, still stroking them with one hand. He hummed when a long fingered hand reached down to curl with his, moving and stroking.

Groaning, Ibiki squeezed gently, getting a gasping moan from Naruto. A leer spread over his face as the hand moving with his twitched, and swiped a large thumb over the tips of their lengths. It didn't take long for the two to find their peaks, Naruto flushing as he shivered and spilled over their hands, eyes fluttering shut. Ibiki groaned and pulled him close, following after as he buried his face into the sweet neck.

"Fuck." The explicative made him look to the nearly limp blond as he twitched in the after shocks. Ibiki chucked and trailed his clean hand over the lean back, finding blue eyes open and gazing at him. "You are amazing.

"Just wait until we actually have sex," Ibiki chuckled, getting a sweet blush from Naruto.

"Yeah, I have no doubt it'll blow me away," Naruto chuckled.

"Though, I have to ask, are you a virgin in any way?" Ibiki asked.

"Well, not with females. I just never found anyone to sleep with otherwise," Naruto admitted, blushing gently.

"Good," Ibiki breathed, cupping Narutos ass with his clean hand.


	34. Chapter 34

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 34

Warning: Violence, fighting, ect

Word Count: 1,228

AN: Yeah, I bet you were waiting for this. Enjoy and the such. :)

To note...There are a total of **40 chapters. **The story is written. Complete. Just need to post and when that is done I can post the edited chapters at my leisure.

* * *

The cursed filled call that came eventually didn't really surprise Ibiki and Naruto when it came. Sighing, Naruto put down the phone and grabbed the scroll that held his weapons, his companion pulling on his jacket with a grumble.

"Where are they attacking?" Ibiki asked, pulling open the door to his office, Naruto following after him as he pulled on his own weapons pouch.

"Apparently the Hokage Tower is being attacked this time. They're going for the big target this time," Naruto stated as they bounded out of the ANBU building and onto roof tops. "Let's get over there. I have a bone to pick with the pink haired bitch."

"So, you're going after her again?" Ibiki asked as they ran for the tower.

"Yep," Naruto chuckled, pulling out a kunai and slicing the throat of a ROOT nin that dared to get in his way. Ibiki snorted and tossed his own attacker off of the room. "Let's kick her ass. Ibiki, can you kick Danzos ass again/" he asked, throwing the kunai, jumping over the sudden dead body.

"I can do that," the scarred man drawled before they separated to find their opponents.

It had been nearly a month since the last month and two weeks since Ibiki had arrived home, and everything had been going pretty good for everyone. The damages had been repaired quickly while everyone who need to trained. Ibiki and Naruto trained together, Naruto learning some new moves and ways to fight from the man. When they weren't training or doing paperwork, they were using their free time to explore each other and their relationship while planning the bonding ceremony.

Shaking his head, Naruto landed on a wall, watching as Sakura traded blows with several ANBU. Deciding that he wanted to take her down himself, he ran at her, slamming his fist hard into her side which got a scream of pain from her. Ignoring that, he continued to attack, Sakura quickly returning the hits.

Dodging under a kick, Naruto came up and landed a glancing blow to her back before squeaking as she twisted, a kunai whizzing over his head.

"Bitchy has claws," Naruto taunted, Sakura growling and once more lunging at him. With his ears and tail twitching, the younger of the two kept moving and dodging her attacks, landing a few of his own. He was starting to compare his current fight to the last one against her.

"Aw, come on, Sakura, don't you have any moves beyond your power attacks?" He whined, easily dodging the punches and picks now that he had them down. "Man, even Shikamaru gives me more of a fight and he's a lazy bastard," he pouted, ears flattening at the shriek of anger that the words got. He still had to smirk and used a kunai to deflect a barrage of them, moving out of the way of what he couldn't. "Aww, did that hit a button?"

"Shut up, you stupid demon!" Sakura shrieked, following after as he bounded off towards the ANBU headquarters. He knew that the ANBU not in a fight would be waiting for them with Anko, he just hoped they were ready for her.

"Come on, Sakura, you've known me for how long and you really think I'm a demon?" Naruto asked, stopping a kick, using his hold on her to toss her into a wall. "You know, if I was the Kyuubi, I would have destroyed the village long before now," he drawled, walking over to where she was struggling to get up from the hole that she had created from her landing.

"You're just playing them, making them think that you're nothing but innocent in all of those deaths," Sakura hissed as she hauled herself up.

"So…you doubt the Fourths sealing work?" Naruto asked, blue eyes dark.

"What?" She asked, frowning heavily at him. Naruto cocked an eyebrow at her as his tail twitched behind him.

"Don't tell me that you forgot that it was the Forth Hokage that sealed the Kyuubi in me," he said, her clueless look making him groan. "You know what? Anko, take the pink menace into custody please? She's an idiot of epic proportions and needs a fucking history lesson." Anko snorted from behind Sakura, knocking her out with a fist to the back of her neck.

"Man, is it me or was that really easy?" Anko asked, Sparrow hauling Sakura body up off the ground, slinking her over his shoulder.

"I think Danzo left since I see Ibiki," Naruto said in reply, pointing towards a black clad speck that was heading towards them.

"Looks like you're right," Anko stated, watching as her boss arrived, dropping onto the ground near them. "So, boss man, what's up?" she asked.

"Danzo suddenly retreated. I think that her capture was planned by him," Ibiki said, Naruto blinking at him as his ears and tail once more twitched with his thoughts.

"I think that he found something that made him want to get rid of her and fast," Naruto hummed as Sparrow disappeared to stash her in a cell. "I don't think we'll have to worry about her getting out anytime soon, at least with some help from Danzo. Which is good."

"Yeah," Anko drawled, watching Naruto bounce on his feet as Ibiki eyed him with a smirk on his lips. "I'm gonna go frisk her so she can't try to get away suddenly."

"Please do that. Naruto and I will hand out jobs from my office, after we talk with Tsunade-san," Ibiki said, Anko smirking before disappearing. The two were soon talking with Tsundae, debriefing on what needed to be done to be cleaned up before they headed to his office. Everyone that had been in the fight, and were able to, dropped by with their basic reports before heading off again with their jobs.

As the sun set, Ibiki and Naruto finally left the office again, needing to get away and relax finally. The fight had left them edgy and filled with energy that they needed to release.

"did you know that Sakura completely forgot that it was the Forth that sealed Kyuubi in me?" Naruto asked, pulling off his shoes and put them aside once they were inside their home. Ibiki was already pulling off his coat and hanging it up before he started to remove his weapons.

"No, I didn't, he said, frowning lightly at Naruto who was nodding his head.

"Yeah. She gave me a confused look when I mentioned it," he replied, shrugging as he shed his own weapons. "Do you think that her mind is dying or something?"

"Possibly. I'll have someone check it out tomorrow," Ibiki promised, Naruto nodding his head. Pulling him close, the large man ran his hands down over the lean back and buried his nose into soft hair. Naruto sighed as his companion pressed a soft kiss to the base of one ear.

"Hey, 'Biki?" Naruto asked, getting a questioning rumble. "Can we…well that is… Will you sleep with me?" The shyness that came from Naruto surprised Ibiki, making him pull back and look down at him.

"You really want to have sex?" Ibiki asked, stroking one whiskered cheek.

"Yeah, I do," he hummed, smiling up at his fiancé.

"Alright. But a shower for us first," Ibki said, pulling Naruto up the stairs with a smile.


	35. Chapter 36

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Chapter: 36

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Sakura, Ibiki, Inochi, Anko

AN: Ooh, look, we torture the Sakura now?

Yes, we do. *cackles*

A note to my readers: If you do not see a post from me on when it's supposed to be, then that means that there had been SEX in that chapter. That happens. I don't post sex on here. Ever.

Deal with it. You can find this story elsewhere if you want it that badly.

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Staring at the bound woman behind the one way glass, Ibiki let a feral grin spread over his lips at the thought of being able to get revenge against her. Sakura was heavily bound by chakra chains with her eyes covered and a gag wrapped tightly around her mouth. Every so often, she would twitch and tug at her chains or turn her head to a perceived noise.

What she didn't know was that Anko and a few ANBU were purposefully making soft noises, or creating breezes. It was a way to get her imagination running, making her paranoid, off balance. Easy picking for when he finally stepped into his personal torture room.

He had left her hanging as they rebuilt, again, and healed for the last three days, not letting her know exactly what time of day it was, her food coming in small spurts and at random times. Her cell had been just four walls, no window, and a bed that was comfortable enough. That was, when the lights had been turned off before they came back on.

Isolation and sleep deprivation were still preferred techniques of torture for a reason. They worked and worked well.

Looking to Anko, Ibiki raised an eyebrow as she came in, brushing off her hands. She was looking undeniably smug with herself, making him shake his head.

"I take it that you had fun," he said, Anko nodding her head. "I figured as much. She seems about ready. Prep the lights and start the recordings please."

"Yes, sir," Anko chirped before bouncing out. Ibiki watched her, well used to her odd antics right before a session. She would get giddy, almost as if she was high on something. Afterwards, she would be mellow and relaxed, doing her paperwork and giving new recruits a couple of days from their fear driven training. After a day or two, she would be back to normal and terrorizing new recruits and her fellow nins.

"Such an odd woman," Ibiki drawle,d turning back to gaze into the room as the lights were lowered, Naruto stopping the closing door to step in.

"She ready to go round?" he asked, leaning into his lovers arms as he gazed at Sakura with darkened blue eyes, his ears and tail twitching in agitation. Ibiki simply reached up and smoothed a hand over Narutos ears, getting the fur to lay flat as they continued to watch her.

She was starting to twitch in an interesting way.

"Yep. Three days of not knowing when it was day or night, and random snacks instead of full meals, and she's ready to twitch like a trapped jack rabbit," he smirked, Naruto chuckling lowly as he hugged his larger lover.

"You're so good," he teased, Ibiki reaching down and squeezing his ass in reply. "Ibiki! Bad pervv interrogator."

"Your pervy interrogator thought," Ibiki chuckled. Naruto rolled his eyes and pointed at Inochi as the man bend over and breathed into Sakuras ear, getting a muffled shriek.

"Looks like your friend started without you," Naruto mused.

"Indeed. I best go in," Ibiki said, moving to the door, Naruto trailing behind.

"I'll wait in your office while you do your work," Naruto stated, leaving after stealing a lingering kiss and a promise for a hot dinner together. Walking into the interrogation room, he let the door slam behind him. Sakura jumped and turned towards the sound as Ibiki nodded his head to Inochi to remove her gag and blindfold. Watching as she jerked her jaw side to side and blink under the sudden brightness of the lights despite their dimness, he sat down before her, opening a folder before him and picked up a pen.

"Sakura Haruno, age 19. Daughter of the civilian family Haruno. You have been a nin since you were 12 years of age when you graduated the academy, correct?" he asked, voice pleasant.

"Yes, that's correct," she husked, voice rusty from previous screaming fits that she had had in her cell.

"Your genin team mates were Sasuke Uchiha, top of his class and one Naruto Uzumaki, bottom of his class with jonin sensei Hatake Kakashi, correct?"

"Yes. Why are you asking me all of this?" she snarled, Inochi fisting his hand in her hair and tugging in warning. The yell of pain barely fazed the two men even as the mind worker released her hair.

"You became Tsunade-samas apprentice about the time Naruto left to train with Jiraya-sama and Sasuke-san left the village as a supposed traitor, correct?" Ibiki continued, making the occasional mark on the papers before him.

"Yes," Sakura hissed, tugging at her chains. Inochi idly slammed her head into the table, Ibiki pausing in his writing to wait for the vibrations to stop.

"I'm sure you've noticed that when you step outside of your boundaries, Inochi-san will discipline you accordingly," he stated, flipping a page and continuing to write. "Do you understand this?"

"Yes, I understand," Sakura gritted out as she was yawned back up to sit straight again. Her forehead throbbed but she knew that she would live. Inochi hadn't slammed her into the table hard enough to do any damage outside of the throbbing of her head.

"Good. Now, you answer our questions and you go to a nice cell with a window, normal meals and can actually see your parents," Ibiki told her, putting his pen down and lacing his fingers together before him.

"I'm so glad that you learned so fast. Others said you wouldn't learn so fast," Inochi drawled, patting her head before pulling out a small bottle of water. "Open up." Pouring a bit of water into Sakuras open mouth, he took up a position near her as Ibiki started his interrogation.

"Now, why did Danzo help you escape the first time?" he asked, gazing at her.

"I have no idea. He came to me and said I would be of use to against some people," she said, glaring at him as she tugged lightly on the chains wrapped around a wrist. A sharp sting on her arms was her reward, making her cry out and look at Inochi. The mental nin held a switch in his hand, a long tray attached to the wall holding several other items.

"I see," Ibiki hummed, writing down what she had told him. "Where did he take you once you were out?"

"He took me to one of his bases. It was found after we left apparently," she said, eyeing Inochi as he placed the switch down and pulled the tray out of the wall a bit more.

"Do you know any of his people?" Ibiki asked, smirking as she shook her head.

"He didn't trust me to know anyone without masks. They were blank with stripes on them. Depending on how many stripes and what color they are, they tell you what their station and the specialty they are," she said, swallowing and tearing her eyes away from Inochi as he nearly fondled a sharp knife.

"I see," Ibiki chuckled. "I'm sure you know where his bases are. From what I know of you, you would have learned whatever you could as insurance."

"No, I don't know," she replied, Ibikis smile becoming razor sharp. Two sharp cracks preceded the pained and surprised cry as she stared at her newly broken and reset finger.

"Now, I seemed to have forgotten to mention the punishment for every lie. You have 9 more lies to go before we pull out actual instruments to use for every lie," Ibiki stated, watching as she bit her bottom lip. "Now, do you know any bases?" he asked. Several denials and false answers later, and they had finally broken her enough for her to show her true face. Every word was the truth, but it was snarled and twisted.

Once they got the answer they wanted, they had a medic fix the breaks into place along with her new bruises and cuts. Stepping out of Sakuras new cell, Ibiki rubbed at his head as Inochi wiped his hands off.

"So?" the large man asked.

"She's bat shit insane. Psychopathic, possibly sociopathic," Inochi sighed, Ibiki nodding before they left to file their reports.


	36. Chapter 37

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 37

Word count: 1,510

Characters: Many

AN: Ahhh, here we go. :D Finally, you see things happen. ;)

**Foxfire: Aww, I'm happy that you're enjoying the story. *coos* And that you think this is one of the best fanfics. Good boost to my ego.**

**Guest Review 1: I post every two weeks. If there is smut, I do not post to THIS SITE. I will not say this again.**

*Fixed some things*

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Landing on a roof, Parrot gazed at the innocent looking building that stood before him and several other masked ANBUs as they landed next to him before a familiar black clad nin dropped down next to him, radiating smugness.

"So, Night owl," Parrot drawled, getting a long look from him, "you have everything set up right?"

"Of course I have everything set up," he stated, pulling his mask up and exposing just who had been spying on Danzo. Genma smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.

"How did you really get out of sleeping with the old man?" Deer asked suddenly, coming to stand next to Sparrow and Snake.

"I had one of the younger nins who's built about my size sleep with him. The guy is nuts for Danzo, completely nuts, but was willing to learn how to be me in the bed to get fucked by him," Genma admitted, shrugging. "He doesn't know the difference between us."

"You are rather unique in bed," Snake drawled, Genma throwing him a leer.

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that. Wanna go have a round again after this?" he asked.

"Come out of this in one piece and we'll do that," Snake hummed, turning his masked face away.

"Come on, let's do this. That means you have to stop flirting because the others are waiting for our signal," Sparrow chuckled. Everyone nodded and disappeared to do their jobs, small explosions suddenly rocking the building as ROOT nins started to flee from the collapsing buildings and tunnels. Fights were quick to break out as Jounnins and ANBU moved to subdue or kill their targets. The main group disappeared into the building they wanted, Genma leading them through the halls, leaving the sounds of yells of pain, fists hitting flesh and bodies falling to the ground with heavy thuds behind.

"Night! You bitch traitor," a voice screeched, attacking the hidden nin, forcing him to jump out of the way, bouncing off of one wall with a twist.

"Go on you guys. You know where to head to," Genma told them, pulling a short sword free from its seal and meeting the slice of a long katana with a loud, echoing clang. The katana was wielded by a man who looked a lot like Genma, except for the cold blue eyes that sparkled with madness.

"Move," Sparrow commanded as another explosion rocked the building. As they went down the halls that twisted and turned in dizzying ways, they were quick to either subdue or kill those nins that they came across or attacked them. By the time they were at the door that they did want, they were covered in blood, not all of it their own. "Snake, you are with me. Wolf, Deer, Parrot, spread out and look for any ROOT nins that are lurking around. Remember, subdue if you can do so," he stated, removing his katana from it's sheath, the sound of the move smooth and pure, singing for blood.

"Yes, sir," the three snapped in attention before heading down the halls. Looking at Snake, Sparrow nodded his head before they opened the door, both men ready to attack or be attacked.

The groan of pain and the scent of blood, dust and explosives was not what they had been expecting. Staring at the half ruined room, Sparrow and Snake stared at the pile of rubble that Danzo had apparently been unable to miss, catching part of his body under it. Looking, Sparrow spotted a hand and shifted his body into a more relaxed stated, shaking his head.

"I think someone wanted Danzo dead just as much as us," he said, pointing to the hand. "It almost seems anti-climatic," he drawled, stepping further into the room, sending a pulse of chakra through the room to make sure that they hadn't accidentally stepped into a genjutsu.

"So it is," Snake snorted, poking at the moaning body before checking the arm, giving it a tug and pulling a young girl from the rubble, her eyes glassy in death and blood trickling from a red tinged mouth. "She's dead and I don't think that's he going to last long enough to be questioned."

"No matter. His autopsy will tell us more, along with any notes that we find," Sparrow said, "along with the rest of the bodies. See if you can't find out what he was doing with that girl would you?" he asked, Snake pulling the young body out. Most of her bones were broken and her body heavily bruised, telling them that she had lived for at least a few moments after being buried.

"She only has a few markings, so she was a new recruit. From what Night Owl told us, he would put the marks on himself, occasionally sleep with the one he was doing it to really seal them down," Snake hummed. "And you're right about the autopsies. Think Night Owl is done with his attacker?" he asked, moving to lean against the desk as the sounds of the fights slowly filtered down to their ears.

"Probably. And we've probably lost more men," Sparrow replied, both of them frowning at the thought of it. "An unfortunate part of our lives I suppose." The two let themselves mourn those they were losing and those who would never work as an ANBU due to injuries if they weren't careful.

"So, is he dead yet?" Snake asked, both looking down at the man, eyebrows cocking at Danzos body. A moan was their answer through it was low enough to tell them that he was almost dead.

"Just about," Sparrow drawled, wiping a bit of blood from his mask. "Another minute or so of bleeding out will do."

"Good. I want to get laid," Snake stated, looking at his friend and boss.

"How in the world did you two get in bed together?" Sparrow asked, staring at his friend.

"We got bored when he came back and decided to fuck around," Genma drawled from the door way, mask shoved to the side as he limped into the room. Snake stood straight, Genma waving him off so he could sit comfortable in the only chair that had escaped the fall of rubble. "Fucker threw me into a wall after body slamming me," he said.

The three steadied themselves as a larger explosion rocked the building, the sound of fighting soon dieing off. A white clad medic was quick to step into the room, looking around with a frown on his lips before settling his gaze on the three standing or sitting.

"The mission is done, Sparrow-san," he stated, coming in further to check on Danzos silent body. Leaving the dead man once he had proclaimed the time of death, he moved to the other three, treating Sparrows and Snakes minor wounds before turning to Genma.

"Casualties?" Sparrow asked, crossing his arms as the medic poked and prodded at Genmas back.

"Very few on our side. About 6 ANBU, 3 jounin. Most of the ROOT nins were killed, but a few were caught alive," he said, Sparrow nodding his head.

"Are they being moved to the ANBU holding cells?" Snake asked as they watched the nin smooth bruise cream over Genmas back, his hands glowing as he heated the cream.

"Yes, sir. Ibiki is repairing the rooms to question them as the bodies are transported. The seal workers almost have the seal figured out," was the reply.

"I'm sure the information we find will help quite a bit," Genma said, waving a scroll around with a smirk. "The good thing about getting in under his skin was knowing where everything was hidden. This pretty baby was always sealed in a drawer near him and when he died, the drawer just happened to pop open," he told them, pointing at said drawer.

"I wonder what ever else has popped open," Snake drawled, smirk evident in his voice.

"Looks like we're having to go back to the other bases," Sparrow said as Wolf stepped inside of the room, one arm heavily bandaged, as a retrieval team moved to collect the bodies from the rubble.

"Ibiki-san sent a note saying that hose involved with the fight are to fall back and let a new wave of ANBU do clean up," he said, the three nodding.

Meeting up with Parrot and Deer, they headed for headquarters, Naruto greeting them with paper for their debriefing. The young mans eyes kept turning to one door, waiting for Ibiki to come out of it. Writing out their reports and answering the needed questions, they were soon told that as long as the medics cleared them, they were free for the time.

Snake and Genma disappeared while Parrot left after a bit to check in with his lovers and Deer strolled off, almost bored like, leaving Sparrow to sit with Naruto.

"So, he's working hard?" Sparrow asked.

"Yes, I have a feeling I'm not getting any sleep tonight," Naruto purred, his friend groaning and shaking his head as the other smirked, ears flicking.


	37. Chapter 38

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Fandom: Naruto

Chapter: 38

Characters: Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura

Word count: 1,293

AN: And we continue to see what is going on with the bitch. :D

One more chapter for viewers. T.T Two more for all others.

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Poking at one ear just to watch it twitch, Sasuke snickered as Naruto batted at him, glaring at his friend.

"Stop that, would you?" he groused, letting Ibiki pull him close and nuzzle into his hair. "So, we're really gonna be able to finally talk with her?" he asked his lover, tilting his head up to gaze at the large man.

"Yes, you'll be able to talk with her. We have all of the needed information that she had and she's fully healed now," Ibiki said, pressing a kiss to his head.

"It's been a long time coming," Sasuke drawled as he shifted. "Mi-chan is cooking up a storm for tomorrows dinner by the way. I don't think I've ever seen so much in our refrigerators," he told the couple, talking about the engagement part for the two.

"She's sweet for throwing the part, especially with only a few weeks of notice, on top of your own engagement party and wedding," Naruto said softly, getting a fond 'you idiot' look from Sasuke

"She damn near has our wedding completely planned and set up already," Sasuke drawled, shrugging with a smile. "It gives her something to do when she's not working."

"That reminds me, when is her surgery supposed to happen?" Naruto asked.

"As soon as we get back from our honeymoon," Sasuke replied, the three of them turning to Ibikis office door as Deer opened the door, standing there with a bored stance.

"She's in the interrogation room waiting for you guys," he told them before leaving, the door closing slowly behind him. Naruto looked at Ibiki and Sasuke before standing up from the couch, pulling his fiancé up with him.

"Come on, let's do this," Sasuke huffed, hauling himself off of his chair, shoving his hands into his pockets. Naruto eyed him with a smile dancing on his lips.

"What, trying to mimic Shikamaru and his laziness?" he asked, hooking his arm through Ibikis as they left.

"Funny, really," Sasuke drawled back, lip curling. "You two better be on time for your own engagement dinner. If I have to drag you there, I will."

"We'll be there, Sasuke-san, no worries. I won't even let my dear fiancé distract me from what I need to do," Ibiki promised, Naruto blinking innocently up at him. "Don't give me that look. You like to tease me all the time, so no innocent look."

"Not my fault you look delightful interrogating all of those ROOT nins," Naruto cooed, Ibikis arm wrapping around his waist and squeezing him.

"Behave," Ibiki growled, Sasuke gagging next to them as they made their way to the room. Naruto reached over and swiped at his friend, unsurprised when he dodged out of the way.

"Shut up. I don't complain when you get kissy faced with your fiancé," he said, sticking his tongue out at his friend.

"That's because you never see me get kissy faced with her," came the retort.

"You get…fluffy, as much as it pains me to say it," Ibiki said, the two younger men looking at him with some surprise. "I can say the word fluffy if the occasion calls for it," he stated.

"The first time I heard him say fuffy, cuddle and puppy was the first time I locked myself in my room and drank myself unconscious," Itachi said, leaning against the wall next to the interrogation room door. He was dressed as a regular nin, arms crossed, hair pulled back and looking smug about something.

"You got laid. Again," Sasuke snorted, making his brother smirk and push away from the wall. "Next time you plan on getting happy, can you please send a note so my soon to be wife can make sure your dinner is put away so you can eat it the next day?" he asked as he, Naruto and Itachi stepped into the room, Sakura looking up from the table she was chained to.

"Sasuke-kun," she breathed, eyes wide as Sasuke and Naruto sat down before her. Ibiki closed the door behind them, leaving Itachi to lean against a wall, arms crossing once more. "I wasn't expecting to see you again," Sakura said, smoothing her hair down. The pink locks were longer than they had been at one time; pulled back by a hair tie, exposing the chakra binding neck cuff she had to wear outside of her cell.

"We decided to come by and update you on what has been going on since you were brought in" Sasuke drawled, sitting back in his chair.

"You see, my ears are permanent, no thanks to you, but luckily, not genetic," Naruto told her, leaning forward on the table. Green eyes looked at him, glaring as he smiled sweetly at her. "Apparently my ears and tail are so cute that I have a long list of surrogates that are willing to give me and Ibiki babies. Tsunade is also really close to figuring out how to combine our genetics so we can have babies that are both of ours."

"Freak," Sakura snarled before cringing when Itachi shifted against the wall.

"Not really actually. Neji-kun, Iruka-san and Kakashi-sensi are looking forward to the jump so that they can have lots of children themselves," Sasuke said.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, lots of same sex couples want children that are theirs," Sasuke mused, shrugging one should. "Ah, we should tell her about Danzo and what happened to the ROOT bases," he said, looking to Naruto, who smiled brightly.

"We should," Naruto said, the two sharing smug smiles.

"What about Danzo and ROOT?" Sakura asked, cocking an eyebrow as her eyes narrowed at them, darting back and forth between the two friends.

"Oh, he's dead. His body is in the morgue, autopsied and waiting to be cremated before being used as fertilizer," Naruto cooed at the pink haired woman.

"How?" she hissed, leaning forward, her chains rattling. Naruto idly mused that her glare looked mildly constipated, making him snicker quietly.

"From what we were told: death by rubble aided by one of his new recruits," Sasuke replied, somehow keeping his voice even as he looked to Itachi who just gave him a vaguely interested look.

"I don't believe you," Sakura growled, the two friends shrugging with smiles on their faces.

"Don't. We have no reason to lie to you," Sasuke told her, looking to his friend. "You wanna tell her about our news?" he asked.

"Sure, why not?" Naruto chirped, playing with a ring on his left ring finger, the band a simple white gold. "I know it's dangerous to wear a ring, but Ibiki had it done with special runes to hide on my missions. My bond ring will connect with this one. Sasuke bought one for his fiancé to."

"She loves it to. Of course, Naruto is getting bonded before I get married, the pain," Sasuke snorted, getting a smug look from his friend. "But it gives Mi-chan the chance to do something beyond plot our wedding and honeymoon."

"Let me tell ya, I'm beyond happy to have Mi-chan doing this for me and 'Biki," Naruto chuckled. Looking to Sakura, he had to laugh at her face. She looked almost as if she had swallowed a lemon, her lips puckered and eyes wide.

"I'll tell her when I go home again," Sasuke promised.

"So, wanna tell her what she's going to be doing for the rest of her life?" Naruto asked.

"What about me?" Sakura asked, her face becoming nervous as her hands clenched the chairs around her wrists.

"Well," Sasuke purred, "you won't be seeing the outside of a cell for a very long time, if ever." Standing up, Naruto and Sasuke snickered as they left the room and her as she gaped after them.


	38. Chapter 39

Title: Finding a Bit of Trust

Chapter: 39

Fandom: Naruto

Characters: Ibiki/Naruto wedding

Word count: 1,304

AN: Second to last chapter for all those who can get smut…last chapter for those who can't. More specifically, . Ahhh, my God, is it almost done? Yes, yes it is. *nodnod*

Enjoy you guys.

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The sky was clear beyond a few thin, white clouds as it floated past, and the villagers were busy with preparations for the celebration of a high clan bonding, the first in many years. Ibiki was rolling his eyes as he pulled his bonding kimono on, smoothing the layers down as Kakashi read his book near by. The perverted man was wearing a basic kimono that alternated between grey and a medium blue in its own layers, a wolf prowling down his back.

Ibikis own kimono was an off white with blue accents, the color and style looking right on him, despite his initial misgivings. He had a matching skull cap that he slid on after securing his kimono. Pulling on his foot wear, he took a seat and leant back as Itachi, looking good in a Uchiha blue kimono, smacked the back of Kakashis head.

It had been a month since Danzo had been killed by rubble and ROOT taken down completely and the bodies had been autopsied. The information collected from them had amazed every one with how the seals had affected the body of the one that they had been applied to. It had closed the throat just right to cut off the voice should the one wearing it had tried to talk but not close off the air way. Danzo had been very good at making a seal to keep them quiet.

They had removed the seal once they had figured out how it worked from the ROOT nins and had ended up with enough information to put all of the sealed records into their own room. Several ROOT nins had been found to have been forced into the ranks and were under heavy watch for the time being in a compound on ANBU land. Some were talking about retiring from working as a nin and instead work to supply and help the Shinobi force so they could have more nin friendly places to buy things and find rest.

Tsunade loved the ideas, but had told them flat out that they would still be watched, even when they left the village for whatever reason. None of them had cared; they had just wanted to be free for once.

Sakura had sneered any time she had seen Ibiki and had lost many of her privileges with how many times she had insulted him, an ANBU or Naruto. She had learned fast not to do either around anyone, or at least not aloud after that first week. She had screeched when Anko had shown her their bonding invitation though, annoying several ANBU who had been in hearing distance. She had lost her book and scroll privileges after she had just gotten them back.

"Come on, it's time to get married." Itachis voice broke through his musings, making Ibiki blink and look at him before standing up.

"Right, let's go," Ibiki drawled, the two men leading the way. In front of the spot where Tsunade would stand, Sasuke stood on Narutos side, dressed in a kimono that matched his brother, standing as his friends witness.

"Ibiki-san," Sauske drawled in greeting, getting a nod from him. "So, finally huh?" he asked as they waited for the last of the guests to arrive.

"Yeah, finally," Ibiki growled, giving Sasuke a glare before smirking. "Though it would have been earlier if for your lovely fiancé hadn't somehow convinced my lover to plan this elaborate thing," he stated, Sasuke shrugging with a smile.

"Like you, I can't say no to my better half when she either threatens me with the couch or flashes me the puppy eyes," Sasuke drawled, eyes narrowing when Ibiki smiled smugly.

"I have yet to be threatened with the couch and I know for a fact that you were threatened with it within a week of moving her into your home," he stated, Sasuke pouting as Itachi and Kakashi both snickered from behind him.

"I wonder how Naruto even deals with you," Sasuke complained, crossing his arms and glaring at his brother.

"I make him scream. Every single night, loudly and for a very long time," Ibiki retorted as Neji and Iruka walked up in matching blue kimonos. It seemed that the witnesses for Naruto had agreed to wear the same color for the wedding.

"I did not need to know that about my brothers' love life," Iruka stated, Tsunade walking up to her spot, dressed in her official Hokage robes, minus the hat.

"I don't think any of us wan to know that, Iruka-kun," Tsunade snorted, shaking her head.

"Blame Sasuke for leaving himself wide open for that line," Ibiki stated, smirking at the scowling Uchiha.

"Leave me out of this," Sasuke snorted before looking over the crowd, seeing that everyone that had been invited had arrived. "I think that the ceremony is going to start soon."

"That's why I came out here," Tsunade told them as the doors closed and another set of doors opened and Nartuo walked out, holding the arm of Jiraya.

Naruto was being walked down the aisle for the only fact that he was the younger of the two men and had agreed to an old time bonding contract, trusting Ibiki with their personal life. He wanted to not have to worry about any thing outside of keeping the house and his missions. It worked for them and their life.

Smiling softly, Ibiki ran his eyes over his soon to be husbands kimono, taking in the beautiful design. It was simple and even more beautiful for it. It was a soft cream color with blue petals that fell down the arms and back of the kimono, reminding him of their favorite tree that they usually rested under after a spar. It also made him wonder what was under the layers of silk that covered his lover's body.

Taking Narutos hand as he was handed over by Jiriaya, Ibki nodded in respect to the toad sannin before smiling down at his lover. Getting a shyly happy smile, they turned to Tsunade who started the ceremony.

"Welcome to the bonding of Ibiki and Naruto, two of our best Shinobi and our best of friends…"

After her speech, they exchanged vows and then their simple, platinum rings with special seals that would render then invisible with a bit of chakra and shared a kiss that left Naruto breathless. Leaving the meeting room turned bonding room, they headed to Ibikis estate for the reception. The front yard had a mix of blankets and tables for the guests, the newly wed couple taking a blanket for themselves with some of Narutos closet friends.

Cold and hot food was spread out over three extremely long and wide tables, the cake and matching smaller cakes taking over a fourth table next to them. The drinks were sitting in ice, pitchers or bowls on a fifth table with a couple of bartenders from the usual Shinobi haunts. The cakes had been cut into, showing that they some were vanilla and others were chocolate frosted by chocolate or vanilla buttercream frosting. The decorations that sat on them were the tools of their trade made out of fondant.

All around, everyone had to agree that Choji and his family outdid themselves on the food and Ino did wonderfully on the decorations as the paper lanterns lit up as the sun set.

"Are you happy?" Ibiki asked, brushing his lips over one twitching ear as Naruto sipped at his warm tea.

"Beyond happy, 'Biki," Naruto replied, smiling up at his husband, blue eyes sparkling up at him. "Thank you for everything, really. Love you."

"I love you to, brat," Ibiki chuckled, brushing their lips together. The round of cat calls, whistles and clapping drew them out of their kiss, Naruto blushing brightly at being caught kissing his lover.


End file.
